Smucker’s Must Face Crisco 100% Oil Cooking Spray Class Action

Smucker’s must face a class action lawsuit alleging its Crisco cooking sprays contain added ingredients despite being labeled as “100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil” and “100% Canola Oil,” according to a California federal judge’s recent decision.

On March 13, U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin denied J.M. Smucker Co.’s attempt to dismiss the putative class action lawsuit against them.

Judge Olguin determined that plaintiff Joshua Joseph provided sufficient evidence in his Crisco class action lawsuit that the 100 percent oil cooking sprays also contain ingredients including soy lecithin, dimethyl silicone and propellant.

The court also noted that Joseph included a survey of 400 consumers who purchased Crisco “100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil” and “100% Canola Oil” cooking sprays.

Of the surveyed consumers, 64 percent reportedly thought that the sprays only contained the oil ingredient based on the product labeling.

Another survey reportedly gave Joseph’s claims further standing by showing that 90 percent of consumers only look at the front packaging of a product before purchasing.

Judge Olguin dismissed Smucker’s doubts about the accuracy of the surveys, stating that Joseph’s “well pleaded” factual allegations are presumed to be trued and that the court needs to further investigate the class action claims through litigation.

Joseph filed his class action lawsuit against Smucker in December 2017, claiming that the company’s labeling on their Crisco cooking sprays is misleading and deceptive. The sprays are reportedly advertised with “100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil” and “100% Canola Oil” statements on their labels despite containing other ingredients.

Joseph claims that he and other consumers relied on Crisco labeling and representations when purchasing the products, and were deceived by representations that the product contained only oil.

“Plaintiff and other consumers did not, and are not expected to, look at the Nutrition Facts to ascertain what other ingredients would be in the Products, especially since Defendant’s 100% Oil representation is undoubtedly clear that the Product contains only oil,” the Crisco class action lawsuit argues.

The front labeling reportedly does not reflect the soy lecithin, dimethyl silicone and propellant in the cooking sprays.

Joseph says that, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, soy lecithin is produced by “degumming crude soy oil extracted from soy flakes with hexane.” Hexane is a solvent classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as an air pollutant. Dimethyl silicone, another ingredient reportedly found in Crisco sprays, is used in lubricants and hydraulic fluids.

The third extra ingredient, reportedly identified only as “propellant,” allegedly violates federal regulations due to how it is identified. Joseph argues that the ingredient needs to be identified by its “common or usual name” to comply with labeling regulations set by federal authorities.

Other competitor products allegedly do not suffer from the same downfall. Joseph’s class action referenced Winona Pure cooking spray which reportedly lists only canola oil in the ingredient list, consistent with their representations.

In his Crisco ingredient class action lawsuit, Joseph claims that Smucker’s practices violate California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, and False Advertising Law.

Joseph is represented by Benjamin Heikali and Joshua Nassir of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP.

The Crisco 100% Oil Cooking Spray Class Action Lawsuit is Joseph v. The J.M. Smucker Company, Case No. 2:17­-cv-­08735, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.