Cava Grain and Salad Bowls’ Packaging Contains PFAS Class Action

Consumers are concerned about harmful chemicals in food and want to choose food products that are safe and healthy. Cava Group, Inc. offers grain and salad bowls, which the complaint alleges are “unfit for human consumption” because they are sold in packaging that appears to contain per- and polyfluoralkyl substances, or PFAS.

The class for this action is all persons who bought the Cava grain and salad bowls. A California Subclass has also been proposed for those in the above class who bought the products in California.

Consumer surveys have shown the concern ordinary people have about chemicals in food and other products. They prize health and safety in foods and want to buy foods that are free of toxic chemicals. The complaint claims that they are willing to spend more for products that they know is safer.

Cava advertises its grain and salad bowls to be “healthy” and “sustainable” and to have “Simple Ingredients,” the complaint alleges, and even claims that its packaging is “responsibly sourced, compostable, functional, and now PFAS free. We will eliminate PFAS from our food packaging by mid-2021…”

Why then does the complaint claim that the packaging contains PFAS? It alleges that the packaging “contains heightened levels of fluorine which is independently unsafe and which is an indicator of further unsafe” PFAS.

Also, the complaint points to a study made by Consumer Reports, entitled, “Dangerous PFAS Chemicals Are in Your Food Packaging. The study tested over 100 packaging products from various restaurants and grocery store chains. The complaint quotes the study as saying, “Chains that promote healthier fare such as Cava … also had some packaging that contained PFAS[.]”

Testing involves measuring a product’s total organic fluorine content, which is supposedly a way to assess PFAS content. The complaint claims that the Biodegradable Products Institute sets 100 ppm as its threshold, and the Supply Chain Solutions Center says that companies should investigate products that test at more than that level.

The complaint shows six items of Cava packaging with their alleged organic fluorine levels, with five of them showing amounts over 100, ranging from 202 to 548 ppm.

PFAS, the complaint claims, “are a group of synthetic chemicals known to be harmful to both the environment and humans. Because PFAS persist and accumulate over time, they are harmful even at very low levels.”

The complaint alleges PFAS have been associated with thyroid disorders, immunotoxic effects, and various cancers. It claims the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) associates PFAS exposure with “cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility, and increased risk of asthma and thyroid disease.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Breach of Implied Warranty, Contains Substance It Claims Not to Contain, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels, Fraudulent Misrepresentation, Negligent Misrepresentation