Dannon Class Action Says Vanilla Yogurt is Mislabeled

A class action lawsuit claims that Dannon falsely labels their yogurts as containing more vanilla than they actually do.

The Dannon class action lawsuit was filed by Theresa Andriulli who says she purchased Dannon yogurts based on advertisements that they contain natural vanilla bean.

She says that in reality, the yogurts contain imitation vanilla in addition to natural vanilla.

Andriulli says that had she known that the yogurt contained largely imitation vanilla, she would not have purchased the yogurt or would not have paid as much as she did for it.

She states that without the court’s intervention barring Danone North America LLC, she could not ensure that the company would not continue to misrepresent its products.

The Dannon yogurt class action claims the labels on a number of Dannon yogurt products say “Vanilla” and in smaller text “with other natural flavors.”

She says that because the flavor of the yogurt is vanilla and not another flavor like a fruit flavor, the “with other natural flavors” serve to “reinforce and simulate the vanilla flavor.”

Allegedly, the best known ingredient used to simulate and extend vanilla is vanillin, which is an artificial flavor. The Dannon false adverting class action lawsuit asserts that Dannon misrepresents the artificial vanillin as a natural flavor.

Andriulli claims that although vanillin can be produced from tree bark through fermentation, it is not made from actual vanilla.

The Dannon class action lawsuit goes on to say that listing an ingredient as “Vanilla with other natural flavors” on foods that are characterized by their vanilla flavor is misleading and deceptive for multiple reasons.

Andriulli claims that products labeled as “Vanilla” that contain a mixture of vanilla and artificial vanillin are required legally to be labeled as “Vanilla-vanillin extract/flavoring/powder _ – fold” with the blank filled in with the strength of vanilla in the product.

Additionally, products obtaining a vanilla and vanillin mixture are also required to be labeled with the statement “contains vanillin, an artificial flavor (or flavoring.)”

Andriulli asserts that Dannon uses the “with other natural flavorings” label to skirt these requirements, and to deceive consumers into thinking that there is more natural vanilla in the product than there is.

The Dannon class action claims that this is done to encourage consumers to purchase the products because the company is aware that consumers have a preference for yogurts that contain natural vanilla over imitation vanilla. Allegedly, consumers consider natural vanilla to be more valuable and desirable than imitation vanilla.

Andriulli asserts that Dannon unjustly enriches itself by misrepresenting its products and deceiving consumers because it gains profits that it would not have gained otherwise had it faithfully represented the nature of its products.

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

The Dannon Vanilla Labeling Class Action Lawsuit is Theresa Andriulli, et al. v. Danone North America LLC, Case No. 7:19-cv-05165, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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