This lawsuit alleges that Whole Foods Market engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by selling products falsely and misleadingly labeled “All Natural” when the products contained synthetic ingredients in violation of state consumer protection laws. Specifically, certain food products that Whole Foods Market described and advertised as “All Natural” are alleged to contain the synthetic chemical ingredient Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (SAPP) in violation of federal laws and regulations and state consumer protection laws.
Whole Food Market, Inc. (WFM), the Texas based national supermarket chain specializing in natural and organic foods, sells various products referred to as “All Natural” including:
· All Natural Banana Bran Mini Muffins
· All Natural Blueberry Mini Muffins
· All Natural Coffee Cake Mini Muffins
· All Natural Chocolate Chip Soft Baked Cookies
· All Natural Oatmeal Raisin Soft Baked Cookies
· All Natural Snickerdoodle Soft Baked Cookies
· All Natural Gluten Free Apple Pie
· All Natural Gluten Free Cheddar Biscuits
· All Natural Gluten Free Corn Bread
· All Natural Gluten Free Molasses Ginger Cookies
· All Natural Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
· All Natural Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
During the period from November 8, 2009 through November 8, 2013, California residents Mary and Grace Garrison purchased various items (Products) from a San Francisco Whole Foods on multiple occasions, including:
- All Natural Blueberry Mini Muffins
- All Natural Snickerdoodle Soft Baked Cookies
- All Natural Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- All Natural Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
- All Natural Gluten Free Molasses Ginger Cookies
The Garrisons filed a class action suit against Whole Foods in the United States District Court Northern District of California on November 8, 2103, on behalf of themselves and other purchasers of such items, alleging Whole Foods knowingly engaged in the unfair, unlawful, deceptive, and fraudulent practice of describing and falsely advertising certain products as “All Natural” when, in fact, they contained SAPP and other synthetic ingredients (e.g. Maltodextrin). The Garrisons claimed they purchased the products after reading and relying on the truthfulness of the Whole Foods labels’ promise that the Products were “All Natural” and that they paid a premium price for the Products than they would have paid if the products were not “All Natural” (i.e. did not contain any admitted man-made synthetic ingredients).
SAPP, an odorless white powder, also referred to as disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate and/or disodium pyrophosphate, has various applications, including use in leather treatment to remove iron stains on hides during processing, to stabilizing hydrogen peroxide solutions against reduction, to facilitating hair removal in hog slaughter, to feather removal from birds in poultry slaughter, to use in petroleum production. Warnings indicate excessive use of SAPP can lead to imbalanced levels of minerals in the body and bone loss.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has generally defined the permissible use of the term “All Natural.” The FDA does not generally consider a product to be “natural” if it contains color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.
The complaint seeks class action certification for the purchasers of these advertised “All Natural” Whole Foods products and damages, injunctive relief and restitution for the alleged deceptive and unfair business practices by Whole Foods in violation of FDA regulations and state consumer protection statutes.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Whole Foods accused of adding chemicals to baked goods labeled as “all natural”
November 13, 2013
Here is the complaint. It alleges that Whole Foods violated state consumer protection laws by marketing some of its baked goods as "all natural" but those baked goods contained synthetic chemicals.
whole_foods_bakek_goods_complaint.pdfCase Event History
Whole Foods accused of adding chemicals to baked goods labeled as “all natural”
November 13, 2013
Here is the complaint. It alleges that Whole Foods violated state consumer protection laws by marketing some of its baked goods as "all natural" but those baked goods contained synthetic chemicals.
whole_foods_bakek_goods_complaint.pdf