A class action lawsuit has been filed against Sanderson Farms claiming that the company misrepresents its chicken as being “100% Natural.”
Plaintiffs Daniel Lentz, Pam La Fosse, and Marybeth Norman allege in their class action lawsuit that Sanderson Farms misleads consumers into believing that their chickens were not given antibiotics or other types of pharmaceuticals.
Plaintiff Lentz says he purchased Sanderson Farms chicken at numerous grocery stores in California because he relied on representations that the products were “100% Natural,” which meant that the chicken didn’t contain any antibiotic or pharmaceutical residue.
In addition, the Sanderson Farms class action claims that Sanderson deceives consumers into thinking that their chickens were raised in a natural environment.
“However, the truth is that the feed Sanderson gives to its chickens contains antibiotics and pharmaceuticals; the chickens are raised indoors in crowded and dirty sheds, which is one reason why its use of antibiotics is necessary,” the Sanderson Farms class action lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs also allege that there is reliable evidence that antibiotics used in poultry contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria and Sanderson’s chickens contain antibiotics.
The Sanderson Farms chicken class action lawsuit claims that the company’s advertising uses the phrase “100% Natural” to highlight these misleading claims.
The plaintiffs say that “Having purchased Products sold with these misrepresentations, Plaintiffs and Class members suffered injury in fact, and a loss of money or property as a result of Defendant’s conduct in advertising, marketing and selling the Products falsely claimed to be ‘100% Natural.’”
The Sanderson Farms class action lawsuit states that Sanderson is the only one of the top three poultry producers that doesn’t provide at least some of its poultry that has not been exposed to antibiotics. The plaintiffs claim that the defendant utilizes its “100% Natural” claim to compete with the other two producers of poultry.
“The use of the term ‘natural,’ let alone ‘100% Natural,’ is a powerful statement that is important to consumers,” the Sanderson Farms chicken class action lawsuit claims.
The plaintiffs say Sanderson Farms uses a “carefully crafted” message that makes considerable use of the term “100% Natural” and then attacks competitors who use the terminology “raised without antibiotics.”
According to the raw chicken class action, the reason Sanderson attacks their competitors with this campaign is that the United States government will not let them use the statement “raised without antibiotics” because it is standard practice for Sanderson to feed antibiotics to its chickens.
“The phrase ‘raised without antibiotics’ is important to consumers. A 2007 Consumer Reports survey found that six out of ten Americans would pay more for meat/poultry with the ‘raised without antibiotics’ label and 89% of consumers say all meat companies should be required to disclose the amount and type of antibiotics used,” the Sanderson Farms class action lawsuit claims.
The plaintiffs allege that Sanderson Farms violates California’s Unfair Competition Law, the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, North Carolina’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, breach of express warranty, and common law unjust enrichment.
Did you purchase Sanderson Farms chicken believing it was 100% Natural? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Jonathan D. Miller and Alison M. Bernal of Nye Stirling Hale & Miller LLP, Gretchen Elsner of Elsner Law & Policy LLC, Bonner C. Walsh of Walsh PLLC, and Adam Gonnelli of The Sultzer Law Group PC.
The Sanderson Farms 100% Natural Chicken Class Action Lawsuit is Lentz, et al. v. Sanderson Farms Inc., Case No. 5:19-cv-06570, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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587 thoughts onSanderson Farms Class Action Says Chicken Isn’t ‘100% Natural’
I have purchased sanderson farms chicken on 3 occasions and gotten sick twice. The third time I didn’t get sick because the chicken smelled and tasted off, so I didn’t eat much. All three times the chicken was purchased from Jewel foods in Bartlett, IL.
Please add me
I have purchased thousands of dollars in Sanderson chicken products, which in fact some of which is stored in my freezers! I would rather pay more to feed my family something healthier! There is no truth in advertising!
The whole reason behind my purchasing Sanderson farms chicken was their claim of being 100% all natural, which I discovered to be a complete lie about an hour after eating a helping, when my gut microbiome was disrupted by the antibiotics in the chicken, and resulting in me experiencing great discomfort. After a while I thought, maybe I was wrong, and gave Sanderson the benefit of the doubt; but after trying their chicken on two other occasions and experiencing the same illness I then concluded that the birds were not antibiotic free. Sanderson farms should have to pay for their lies, and the hurt that they cost those who trusted them.
I’m glad I came across this article. I had to stop eating meat because I’m allergic to penicillin all forms of penicillin. Hold out for changes not cash payouts. Good Luck.
I purchased this chicken a few years back and noticed there was thick plastic tubes tubes in it after cooking, I wrote the company numerous emails and then they dropped my email, then never called me back. Now the email address is permanently deleted. Please contact me further – I have photos to back this.
I have been purchasing Sanderson Farms chicken from my local grocery store because the organic chicken that I would normally buy is all bought out. In any case, I chose Sanderson Farms because it says 100% natural. Now I find out that there’s a lawsuit against them because they are not 100% natural. Lying to the customer is as bad as the last president.
Please add my name to your lawsuit. Food is expensive. The companies like Sanderson should get in serious trouble for deliberately lying on their packaging.