TGIN “Natural” Wild Growth Vitamins Contain Synthetics Class Action

Tginesis, LLC makes vitamin products, including TGIN Wild Growth Vitamins Hair, Skin, + Nails Gummies. The complaint for this class action alleges that the company markets the product as “Natural” when it contains at least two artificial ingredients: Red No. 40, a synthetic food coloring, and citric acid, an artificial preservative.

Three classes have been defined for this action:

• The Nationwide Class is all persons who bought the Tginesis products in the US within the applicable statute of limitations.
• The Multi-State Consumer Class is all persons in California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Washington who bought the Tginesis products.
• The Maryland Class is all persons who bought the Tginesis products in Maryland within the applicable statute of limitations period.

At the time of filing, the product at issue is TGIN Wild Growth Vitamins Hair, Skin, + Nails Gummies, although more may be added eventually.

Consumers at this time have become concerned about synthetic and chemical ingredients in products they ingest, the complaint alleges, believing they are healthier and safer. According to the complaint, they are willing to pay more for products that are “natural” and do not contain such ingredients.

Page 2 of the complaint shows an enlargement of the brand name, “TGIN,” and the line underneath it saying, “Thank God it’s NATURAL” (for which the TGIN name is likely an acronym).

The complaint alleges, “Reasonable consumers … interpret ‘natural’ to mean that the product does not include synthetic ingredients.”

Although there is no fixed definition of “natural,” the US Department of Agriculture has published a Draft Guidance Decision Tree for Classification of Materials as Synthetic or Nonsynthetic (Natural). The complaint also quotes a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warning about the use of the term, saying, “If reasonable consumers could interpret a natural claim as representing that a product contains no artificial ingredients, then the marketer must be able to substantiate that fact.”

However, page 11 of the complaint reproduces the ingredient list for the product, which lists citric acid and Red No. 40 among the ingredients.

The complaint defines Red No. 40 as “a synthetic food coloring that is associated with carcinogenic effects and hyperactivity in children.”

As to citric acid, the complaint claims that it is not made from citrus fruit. “Rather, it is industrially manufactured by fermenting genetically modified strains of the black mold fungus Aspergillus niger.” The complaint alleges that it is used “as a synthetic preservative, flavorant, and acidity regulator” and that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes it as artificial.

According to the complaint, the fact that the company has claimed that the product is “Natural” in a prominent location on the packaging shows that it knows that the claim is important to consumers.

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