Dutch Gold’s Buckwheat Honey is harvested prematurely, which deprives it of its antioxidants, according to a class action lawsuit.
Lead plaintiff, New Jersey resident Dana Wolfe, alleges that buckwheat honey is valued by consumers for having health benefits.
Dutch Gold sources its Buckwheat Honey from producers in Montana and North and South Dakota, notes the complaint.
The Dutch Gold class action states that the buckwheat honey is shipped in large drums and before packaging it is heated and dried to turn into the thick honey recognizable on store shelves.
The heating, says Wolfe, is evident from the elevated 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) values in the finished Dutch Gold Buckwheat Honey product. Heating allegedly destroys antioxidants in the honey but Dutch Gold still advertises its presence.
According to the class action lawsuit, “the Buckwheat Honey sold by Dutch Gold does not contain the antioxidants that consumers prize in buckwheat honey. Moreover, because Dutch Gold buys honey that has been harvested prematurely, Dutch Gold (or the sources it purchases honey from) must dry the honey out, so it heats its Buckwheat Honey to high temperatures for a long enough time that the antioxidants normally found in buckwheat honey are destroyed.”
The Dutch Gold class action lawsuit alleges that the company falsely puts a “True Source” claim on the products’ packaging. True Source Certified claims are supposed to signify that the manufacturer has complied with certain standards pertaining to the quality of the honey.
In addition, the Dutch Gold website contains claims that its Buckwheat Honey product contains higher levels of antioxidants, making it an effective cough soother. However, the complaint alleges that these claims are false.
Further, Dutch Gold should not even be able to claim its product is “honey,” contends the complaint, because the honey they use is harvested prematurely and should not be able to be called honey “as that term is used in the industry.”
“Prematurely harvested honey is not yet honey,” alleges the Dutch Gold class action lawsuit.
According to the complaint, industry standards for products called “honey” require that the golden substance be given time to ripen and mature. The substance used by Dutch Gold, says the plaintiff, has not been given that time.
“And, prematurely harvested honey is typically watery. Since the bees have not yet finished making the honey, they have not sealed the honey in its comb. Premature hone is therefore expose to the elements and typically has been watered down by rain and dew.”
“Dutch Gold therefore heats the honey to dry it out. But heating damages the honey; most or all of the antioxidants in buckwheat honey are lost when it is heated for a period of time,” the buckwheat honey class action states.
The plaintiff contends that she and other consumers would not have purchased or paid as much for Dutch Gold Buckwheat Honey had they known it had been heated and dried during the manufacturing process and had lost its antioxidant qualities.
Have you purchased Dutch Gold Buckwheat Honey? Are you surprised by these false advertising allegations? Tell us below!
The plaintiff is represented by Mark C. Cavanaugh of Dugan Brinkmann Maginnis and Pace, Kent A. Heitzinger of Kent A. Heitzinger & Associates, and Terrence Buehler of The Law Office of Terrence Buehler.
The Dutch Gold Buckwheat Honey Class Action Lawsuit is Wolfe v. Dutch Gold Honey Inc., et al., Case No. 5:19-cv-04562-EGS, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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