Frito-Lay Asks Court to Toss Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream Chips Class Action

In an update to recent legal news, Frito-Lay has asked the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to throw out a proposed class action lawsuit saying that Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips are mislabeled. 

According to Frito-Lay, customer Tami Svensrud has tried to claim that Ruffles should be labeled in a way not required by law but has not provided enough evidence to support her claim that the product is misleadingly labeled in the first place.

Frito-Lay challenges Svensrud’s assertion that the package is mislabeled. She claimed that the chips should bear the words “artificially flavored” on the front, saying that the law requires products containing artificial flavors as opposed to their natural counterparts to alert customers to that. However, the company argues that Svensrud has not provided factual support that this label is actually required.

The company says that it is not sufficient for Svensrud to just explain that the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips contain “artificial butter flavor” and “cheddar cheese flavor.” According to the company, Svensrud has failed to list what the artificial ingredients really are or why their presence should be accompanied by an “artificially flavored” label. 

According to Frito Lay, Svensrud has not fulfilled the requirements for filing a complaint in failing to provide enough information about the allegedly artificial products.

Frito Lay goes on to further challenge the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips false ad class action lawsuit saying that, even if Svensrud had provided the basic information required by law to file a complaint, her claims should be dismissed.

Allegedly, the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act preempts state law claims aiming to impose requirements not identical to the federal law. Frito-Lay notes that the FDA requires makers to disclose to consumers on the front of a package that the food contains artificial flavors when the artificial flavor “simulates, resembles, or reinforces” a “characterizing flavor.” 

Frito-Lay elaborates by saying that in the case of the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips, the characterizing flavors are cheddar cheese and sour cream. According to Frito-Lay, Svensrud has not alleged that the artificial flavor she claims are in the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips simulate cheddar and sour cream, the characterizing flavors. The company asserts that Svensrud never alleged that the Ruffles potato chips did not contain cheddar or sour cream, nor did she assert that the chips taste “like anything other than cheddar cheese or sour cream.” 

Instead, she only says that the Ruffles potato chips are flavored with artificial butter flavor, and says that cheddar cheese contains artificial flavor, which the company asserts are disconnected and unsupported claims.

Because Svensrud has not said that the artificial flavors simulate cheddar and sour cream, she cannot say that the package must be labeled with “artificially flavored” on the front, Frito-Lay contends.

The company next moves on to challenge Svensrud’s attempt to assert that Frito-Lay deceived its customers. Frito-Lay says that nowhere does the company or the package make any claims that the product is only naturally flavored. The company then points out that the front of the package that says that the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips are cheddar and sour cream “flavored.”

In her Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips false ad class action lawsuit, Svensrud noted this, but said that it was insufficient and would still confuse consumers, because the word “flavored” was positioned inconspicuously.

Challenging the arguments in the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips mislabeling class action lawsuit, Frito-Lay argues that Svensrud has not explained sufficiently why she or any other reasonable consumers would have been misled by the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips packaging, particularly since they are labeled as “flavored” and because nowhere does the package claim that the chips contain “no artificial flavors.” 

Scathingly, Frito-Lay says that Svensrud “must do at least some work before imposing the heavy burdens of litigation on Frito-Lay.” The company rounds off these criticisms, calling the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips class action lawsuit “deficient to its core.” The company has asked the court to dismiss the claims with prejudice and not allow Svensrud to proceed with litigation. 

Do you prioritize buying food labeled as not being artificially flavored? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Svensrud is represented by Aashish Y. Desai of Desai Law Firm.

The Frito-Lay Ruffles Artificial Flavoring Class Action Lawsuit is Tami Svensrud v. Frito-Lay North America Inc., et al., Case No. 8:20-cv-00714, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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