Amazon.com, Inc. began selling its Happy Belly brand in 2016, claims the complaint for this class action, beginning with snacks and later expanding to other grocery items, including spices. The complaint also claims that the spices, including but not limited to ground thyme, contain heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead, “at levels above what is considered safe for children and adults.”
The National Class for this action is all persons in the US who bought and consumed the Happy Belly spices from the beginning of any applicable limitations period through the date of class certification. It also proposes a California Subclass for persons in the above class in California.
The complaint alleges, “Amazon does not list heavy metals as an ingredient on the Spices’ label and does not warn of the potential presence of heavy metals in its Spices.” If Amazon had disclosed this, the complaint alleges, consumers would not have bought them.
The complaint therefore alleges that the labels on the spices are “deceptive and misleading.”
The consumer-advocacy group Consumer Reports recently tested over 100 spices in various brands for the presence of heavy metals. The complaint quotes Consumer Reports as saying, “Roughly one-third of the tested products, 40 in total, had high enough levels of arsenic, lead, and cadmium combined, on average, to pose a health concern for children when regularly consumed in typical serving sizes. Most raised concern for adults, too.”
What are the risks of exposure to heavy metals? The complaint lists “permanent decreases in IQ, diminished future economic productivity, and increased risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior in children.”
It also alleges, “Toxic heavy metals endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function. Lead and arsenic are heavy metals known to cause a wide spectrum of adverse outcomes in pregnancy such as abortions, retarded growth at the intrauterine cavity, skeletal deformities, malformations and retarded development, especially of the nervous system.”
The complaint alleges that young children are especially vulnerable, even to lower amounts of lead. The effects of lead are bad enough that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water at zero, meaning that lead can be toxic even in small amounts. The complaint alleges, “Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate in the body over time.”
The claims for relief include fraud, unjust enrichment, and violation of state consumer protection and advertising laws, among other things.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Happy Belly Spices Heavy Metal Content Complaint
March 22, 2022
Amazon.com, Inc. began selling its Happy Belly brand in 2016, claims the complaint for this class action, beginning with snacks and later expanding to other grocery items, including spices. The complaint also claims that the spices, including but not limited to ground thyme, contain heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead, “at levels above what is considered safe for children and adults.”
Happy Belly Spices Heavy Metal Content ComplaintCase Event History
Happy Belly Spices Heavy Metal Content Complaint
March 22, 2022
Amazon.com, Inc. began selling its Happy Belly brand in 2016, claims the complaint for this class action, beginning with snacks and later expanding to other grocery items, including spices. The complaint also claims that the spices, including but not limited to ground thyme, contain heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead, “at levels above what is considered safe for children and adults.”
Happy Belly Spices Heavy Metal Content Complaint