Annie’s Class Action Says Pasta, Fruit Snacks Contain Preservatives

Annie’s Homegrown faces a class action lawsuit alleging the natural food giant deceptively markets more than a dozen products as containing “no preservatives.”

“Defendant’s representations that its Products contain no preservatives are deceptive because ANNIE’S products contain the preservatives citric acid and/or ascorbic acid, and tocopherol,” alleges the Annie’s pasta, fruit snacks class action lawsuit.

According to plaintiff Aurora Morrison, Annie’s Homegrown products can be found at a number of major retailers, including Walmart, Target, and Amazon.com.

Morrison alleges that in May 2018 she purchased a 5.25 oz. box of Annie’s Spirals with Butter & Parmesan Macaroni & Cheese for $2.33, under the impression that it was preservative free based on the product’s labeling.

The Annie’s Homegrown class action lawsuit states that had she known the product contained a preservative, in this case citric acid, she would not have purchased or paid as much for the pasta.

Morrison contends that she is not the only consumer to be duped by Annie’s product packaging.

“Conscious of consumers’ increased interest in more nutritious products free of additives and willingness to pay more for products perceived to meet this preference, Defendant misleadingly, illegally, and deceptively seeks to capitalize on these consumer health trends,” alleges the Annie’s pasta, fruit snacks class action lawsuit.

The Annie’s class action points out the U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards define preservatives as “any chemical that, when added to food, tends to prevent or retard deterioration thereof, but does not include common salt, sugars, vinegars, spices, oils extracted from spices, substances added to food by direct exposure thereof to wood smoke, or chemicals applied for their insecticidal or herbicidal properties.”

The ingredients in Annie’s pasta and fruit snacks “precisely” meet that definition, contends the Annie’s class action lawsuit.

The Annie’s pasta, fruit snack class action lawsuit alleges that Morrison and other consumers were denied the full benefit of the bargain because of the deceptive labeling on the products stating, “no preservatives.”

Morrison accuses Annie’s Homegrown of capitalizing on the growing health food trend.

“Consumers are willing to pay more for unprocessed and less-processed products with no additives because of this association, as well as because of the perceived higher quality, health, and safety benefits associated with preservative-free foods,” alleges the Annie’s class action lawsuit.

The Annie’s pasta, fruit snacks class action lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased any of the more than a dozen products manufactured by the company that contain preservatives, but are labeled as preservative-free.

Alternatively, the plaintiff would like to represent a New York Class.

This is not the first class action lawsuit to hit Annie’s Homegrown over alleged false advertising. In 2017, a California man claimed that Annie’s Summer Strawberry Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks do not, in fact, contain any strawberries. Additionally, in 2018 Annie’s was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging its cereal boxes were only half full.

Morrison is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Annie’s Pasta, Fruit Snack Class Action Lawsuit is Morrison v. Annie’s Homegrown Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-02530, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.