Blue Diamond Growers is a California agricultural cooperative, says the complaint for this class action, and one thing it sells is an almond product it describes as “Smokehouse” almonds. The complaint alleges that this designation is false, misleading, and deceptive because the almonds are not smoked in a smokehouse.
The class for this action is all Missouri citizens who bought the products between July 1, 2017 and July 1, 2022.
Smoking is a process of preparing food by cooking (smoking) it over a wood-chip fire, a process that normally takes several hours. Different types of wood give the smoked food different flavors, and the smoking process also helps to preserve the food along with its nutritional value.
Page 5 of the complaint shows the packaging for the Smokehouse almonds, including bags and a cannister with a banner reading “Smokehouse” across their fronts. Page 6 reproduces the ingredient panel and nutrition facts panel. Among the ingredients are “Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor” and “Natural Flavors.”
The complaint alleges that these parts of the packages “do nothing to clarify the fact that the Products are not made in a smokehouse. Indeed, to the uneducated consumer, even the inclusion of ‘Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor[]’ could be misinterpreted as referring to a smoke flavor produced via a ‘natural process, seemingly falsely confirming that the Products were made in a ‘smokehouse.’”
Consumers are willing to pay more nowadays for natural foods, the complaint says, because they perceive them as healthier.
The complaint quotes the European Food Safety Authority as saying that smoke flavorings “consist of complex mixtures of substances derived from specific processes to obtain [a ‘smoky’] type of taste, which give rise to different safety issues.” These complex mixtures, the complaint alleges, may including “certain compounds at levels high enough to pose a toxic risk when consumed.”
“Thus,” the complaint claims, Blue Diamond “uses the ‘Smokehouse’ label to confuse customers into believing the almonds are naturally smoked in order to wrongfully capitalize on this consumer preference.”
The complaint provides a dictionary definition for “smokehouse” and says, “There are no sources that imply the word ‘smokehouse’ could be an adjective, or [that it] relates to anything other than a structure for curing food by means of smoke.”
Also, the complaint alleges that the designation “Smokehouse” violates Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules. According to the complaint, these rules specify that “when a food’s flavor does not come exclusively from a characterizing ingredient or processing method, but contains natural flavor derived from that ingredient or processing method, this must be disclosed to consumers on the front label, in addition to on the ingredient list.”
What does this mean? The complaint says, “Because the Products are represented as made in a smokehouse, even though they are not, and contain added liquid smoke flavoring, this must be disclosed to consumers on the front label.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Blue Diamond “Smokehouse” Almonds Missouri Complaint
July 1, 2022
Blue Diamond Growers is a California agricultural cooperative, says the complaint for this class action, and one thing it sells is an almond product it describes as “Smokehouse” almonds. The complaint alleges that this designation is false, misleading, and deceptive because the almonds are not smoked in a smokehouse.
Blue Diamond “Smokehouse” Almonds Missouri ComplaintCase Event History
Blue Diamond “Smokehouse” Almonds Missouri Complaint
July 1, 2022
Blue Diamond Growers is a California agricultural cooperative, says the complaint for this class action, and one thing it sells is an almond product it describes as “Smokehouse” almonds. The complaint alleges that this designation is false, misleading, and deceptive because the almonds are not smoked in a smokehouse.
Blue Diamond “Smokehouse” Almonds Missouri Complaint