Jimmy John’s Cookies Aren’t All Natural, Class Action Lawsuit Says

Jimmy John’s cookies are misrepresented as “all natural,” according to recent allegations from two Illinois consumers.

Although Jimmy John’s is primarily known for their sandwiches, the food chain also sells other food items such as chips and cookies. This includes the restaurant’s All Natural Triple Chocolate Chunk and All Natural Raisin Oatmeal cookies.

These cookies are reportedly advertised as “All Natural” with a disclaimer promising consumers that the cookies are “minimally processed” and contain “no artificial ingredients.” Unfortunately, these representations are allegedly false and misleading.

Plaintiffs Heather Erwin and Ashley Price claim that Jimmy John’s cookies cannot be classified as “all natural” due to their ingredients. Specifically, the plaintiffs challenge the refined flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, sugar, milk powder, soy lecithin, and baking soda.

According to the two Illinois women, these ingredients are “highly processed” and “artificial,” meaning that they are not natural.

For example, refined wheat flour is reportedly put through several processes which remove the outer portion of the wheat seed and grind the grain into a superfine powder. Erwin and Price note that this process removes nutrients from the wheat which then have to be reinforced with artificial ingredients such as niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid.

Similarly, the plaintiffs challenge the milk powder found in the cookies. This ingredient is reportedly made by evaporating pasteurized milk and solidifying the milk particles into a powder – a process which involves “extensive processing.”

Although other challenged ingredients such as sugar are considered to be more common, the plaintiffs argue that the ingredients involve removing the food from its natural state through a multi-step refinery process.

“In sum, the cookies contain a long list of ingredients reasonable consumers would consider non-natural, artificial, and/or highly processed, in contradiction of the claims on the front of the label,” the Jimmy John’s cookies class action lawsuit contends.

Erwin and Price claim that these practices injured consumers such as themselves who purchased Jimmy John’s cookies based on representations that the products were all natural.

If they had  known that the cookies were not actually natural, the plaintiffs argue that they would not have purchased the products or would have only been willing to pay a lesser price for the items.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of Illinois customers who purchased Jimmy John’s Cookies including All Natural Triple Chocolate Chunk and All Natural Raisin Oatmeal cookies within the past five years.

On behalf of themselves and the proposed Class, the plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, treble damages, punitive damages, restitution, disgorgement, interest, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Erwin and Price originally filed their Jimmy John’s cookies class action lawsuit in early October, though the claims were recently removed to federal court.

Jimmy John’s has faced similar allegations over their cookies in the past. Earlier this year, a Missouri woman filed her own class action lawsuit against the sandwich chain challenging their “All Natural” cookie marketing. Like the Illinois plaintiffs, this consumer argued that the cookies cannot be classified as all natural based on their ingredients.

Have you purchased Jimmy John’s cookies? Did you think these sweet treats were natural? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by David C. Nelson of Nelson & Nelson PC; Matthew H. Armstrong of Armstrong Law Firm LLC; and R. John Azimi of Azimi Law Firm LLC.

The Jimmy John’s Cookies Class Action Lawsuit is Heather Erwin, et al. v. Jimmy John’s LLC, et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-01268, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

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