Judge Rachel P. Kovner has granted Whole Foods Market Group, Inc.’s motion to dismiss a class action suit filed against them in late 2019 in the Eastern District of New York. The plaintiff, Amy Warren, had filed suit against the defendant due to their alleged misrepresentation of sugar as “organic dehydrated cane juice solids” on their oatmeal product.
Whole Foods produces and markets an instant oatmeal product as a part of their 365 Everyday Value brand. The product is sold at Whole Foods across the United States as well as on Amazon. The packaging represents the product as low fat, vegan, a good source of fiber, non-GMO project verified, USDA organic, among other things. The ingredients label lists four ingredients – organic rolled oats, organic dehydrated cane juice solids, organic flaxseed, and sea salt.
Sugar is disguised on the label as organic dehydrated cane juice solids, which the plaintiff claimed was misleading since “consumers expect ingredients on a product to be declared by their common or usual name.” Further, Warren asserted that when an ingredient is listed as juice, is it reasonable to expect that the ingredient comes from a fruit or vegetable. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously stated that consumers may be misled if an ingredient is listed as cane juice since is suggests that the ingredient is derived from a fruit or vegetable.
The complaint explained that “by declaring ‘sugar’ by a term which fails to describe the basic function and...
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