Rari Nutrition “Natural” Pre-Workout Powders Class Action

Rari Nutrition, LLC makes a group of Infinity Pre-Workout Powders that are purported to make workouts better and give more energy to athletes and bodybuilders. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the company misleadingly portrays these products as being naturally flavored, when in reality they contain a synthetic ingredient, DL malic acid.

The class for this action is all persons in the US who bought the products between August 25, 2018 and August 25, 2022.

Consumers these days prefer products that are natural, the complaint claims. “According to Nielsen,” the complaint alleges, “more than 40 percent of consumers rate the absence of artificial flavors in their foods as important to them when deciding between competing products, and more than 60 percent try to avoid artificial flavors at least some of the time.”

The powders come in blue raspberry, strawberry lemonade, candy watermelon, and sour gummy worm flavors. Page 5 of the complaint shows the packaging of the blue raspberry flavor, with an image of whole blue raspberries front and center and the words “Natural Flavor” at the bottom right.

The following page shows images of advertising from the product website that contain promises such as “All-natural ingredients” and “All Natural Always,” and states that the company uses “[a]bsolutely no harmful or artificial ingredients, dyes, or flavorings[.]”

The strawberry lemonade packaging shows of strawberries and lemons. The complaint alleges these images lead consumers to believe the products are flavored with whole fruits.

However, the complaint claims the product contain an ingredient called “malic acid.” The complaint states, “While there is a naturally occurring form of malic acid, it is extremely expensive to formulate in the large quantities and is almost never used in mass-produced food products.” Instead, the malic acid in the product, it claims, is “a synthetic substance derived from petrochemicals” known as DL malic acid.

The complaint alleges, “Testing of the Products performed by an independent third-party laboratory has confirmed the use of DL malic acid in the Products.”

The complaint reviews labeling regulations and alleges, “If any artificial flavor is present which ‘simulates, resembles or reinforces’ the characterizing flavor, the front label must prominently inform consumers that the product is ‘Artificially Flavored.’”

The complaint further quotes labeling regulations as saying that labels must state the “presence or absence of any characterizing ingredient(s) or component(s)…”—such as blue raspberries in the blue raspberry product—“when the presence or absence of such ingredient(s) or component(s) in the food has a material bearing on the price or consumer acceptance…” The complaint implies that this applies to the powder products.

According to the complaint, “DL malic acid is not a ‘natural flavor’ as this term is defined by federal and state regulations and is not derived from a fruit or vegetable or any other natural source. The Products therefore contain artificial flavorings.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: All Natural Claims, Contains synthetic ingredients, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels