Mareesa Nicosia  |  October 19, 2020

Category: Beverages

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Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola cans

A New York state man is suing Coca-Cola over allegedly deceptive and misleading labeling of the soft drink company’s Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola product.  

Plaintiff Louis Brienza, a resident of Chester, New York, claims in a class action lawsuit filed Oct. 18 that the branding and packaging of Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola “is designed to — and does — deceive, mislead, and defraud consumers” about the artificial vanilla flavoring that the beverage contains. 

According to the class action lawsuit, Brienza purchased Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola on at least one occasion, in June 2020; in doing so, he relied upon the front label claims and did not expect its taste to be provided by artificial vanilla flavors.

“The representations as ‘Orange Vanilla’ and ‘Orange Vanilla Flavored’ are false, deceptive and misleading because the product contains fake vanilla, not disclosed to consumers where they are expecting to see it on the front label,” the lawsuit claims. 

Brienza argues he would not have purchased the drink if he had understood it to contain artificial ingredients, based on the labeling, according to the class action lawsuit.

In addition, he argues the product was worth less than what he paid for it — at least $2.99 per 64-ounce container — and he would not have paid as much absent the company’s “false and misleading statements and omissions” on the label. 

The product should be labeled as “artificially flavored” because it is flavored with vanillin rather than with real vanilla flavor derived from the vanilla bean, the class action lawsuit states. Vanillin is one of many compounds found in natural vanilla extract but it is most commonly manufactured from synthetic and non-vanilla bean sources, according to the lawsuit. 

Cola in a glass with ice, surrounded by ice cubes - orange vanilla coca-colaThe complaint delves into the history of vanilla production in an effort to sketch out the arguments against Coca-Cola. According to the class action lawsuit, companies have “adulterated” vanilla products with cheap synthetics and substitutes such as vanillin — a substance manufactured in factories from synthetic and non-vanilla bean sources — since vanillin was first isolated as one of the many compounds found in natural vanilla extract.

Efforts to prevent fraud in vanilla products began as early as the late 19th century, when, for example, the U.S. Pharmacopeia required a specific weight of vanilla beans as the source for vanilla extract, the class action lawsuit states.

The weight of actual vanilla beans was critical because “the main compound of vanillin was easily used to boost the flavor of a small amount of real vanilla,” according to the lawsuit. 

Eventually, Congress directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish standards and rules to combat the marketing of foods from which traditional constituents were removed and new or different (often cheaper and artificial) ingredients were substituted, according to the class action lawsuit.

Vanilla products that contain minimal flavoring from vanilla beans and are boosted by synthetic vanillin are a prime example, it states.

As for the Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola product, the class action lawsuit argues “reasonable consumers” will not discover Coca-Cola’s “deception” on the beverage’s ingredient list, as it lists “Natural Flavors” and does not disclose the presence of added vanillin.

Consumers will also pay more for it because the front label does not state “artificially flavored,” the lawsuit argues.

It goes on to state that Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola is sold at “a premium price,” which is “approximately no less than $2.99 per 64 oz, excluding tax, compared to other similar products represented in a non-misleading way, and higher than the price of the product if it were represented in a non-misleading way.”

As a result, the company allegedly sold more of the product and at higher prices, profiting more than it would have had the labeling been transparent. 

Had Brienza and other consumers known the truth about the drink’s ingredients, they would not have bought it or would have paid less for it, according to the class action lawsuit. 

The complaint is just the latest filed against the soft drink manufacturer concerning allegations of deceptive ingredient labeling.

One of the most recent lawsuits was filed in July by a consumer who takes issue with the company’s Vanilla Coke product, claiming it does not contain real vanilla and that the “no artificial flavors” labeling is misleading. 

Are you surprised to learn Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola isn’t made with natural vanilla? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC. 

The Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla Class Action Lawsuit is Louis Brienza v. The Coca-Cola Company, Case No. 7:20-cv-08676, in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

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957 thoughts onOrange Vanilla Coca-Cola Artificially Flavored, Class Action Lawsuit Says

  1. Jennifer Linn says:

    My kids and me have drank numerous amounts of those of soda cans

  2. Terri Pratt says:

    Please add me

  3. Brenda Taylor says:

    Add me

  4. Ida M Powell says:

    please add me i purchase all the time which I should have known better thanks

  5. Dana says:

    Add me

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