UPDATE: On February 8, 2021, the Nature Nate’s class action lawsuit was dismissed.
A recent class action lawsuit claims that Nature Nate’s 100% Pure Raw and Unfiltered Honey is not raw and is not 100 percent honey according to lab testing.
Plaintiff Marilyn Pierce says that on the Nature Nate’s website it states that: “We simply warm the honey so that it’s easier to deal with and pour into bottles. High heat is a no no. It kills all the good stuff.”
However, Pierce alleges that Nature Nate’s honey is heated to up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to make bottling easier – meaning that the product is not actually raw.
When raw honey is heated above 105 degrees Fahrenheit, the enzymes in the product reportedly start to break down. The Nature Nate’s class action claims this causes the honey to lose its “prized” characteristics which consumers pay a premium price for.
In addition, Pierce says honey from Nature Nate’s may also not be 100 percent honey. Sample testing by a lab reportedly revealed that syrups had been added to the honey. The plaintiff recognizes that she cannot currently determine if it is Nature Nate’s that adds the syrup or if it is done by one of Nature Nate’s suppliers.
However, the class action claims that Nature Nate’s website makes false statements including: “We only bottle the best. That’s why we test. And test. And test. No antibiotics, pesticides or herbicides or added corn or rice syrup get past us.”
Pierce claims that Nature Nate’s continues to make inaccurate claims about their honey so that they can sell their product for a premium price. Raw, pure honey is a premium product which Nature Nate’s allegedly attempts to capitalize on.
“In spite of its knowledge regarding the false labeling of its ‘100% Raw’ Honey products, Nature Nate continues to sell its Raw Honey at prices it could not hope to receive for processed honey, that is honey that is not 100% raw,” the Nature Nate’s honey class action lawsuit claims.
The Nature Nate’s class action lawsuit alleges that consumers rely on the company’s representations when purchasing their honey. These consumers allegedly trust that Nature Nate’s will not lie to them and that their advertisements are trustworthy.
However, the alleged false nature of Nature Nate’s honey representations reportedly causes consumers like Pierce to not receive the value of product that they paid for.
“Plaintiff and Class Members relied on Nature Nate’s representations on the Honey bottles’ labels and on Nature Nate’s website and accepted such representations as being true,” Pierce argues. “However, the Honey does not conform to these express representations and, as alleged herein, Nature Nate breached its express representations concerning its Raw Honey.”
Pierce seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased Nature Nate’s 100% Raw Honey products.
The class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, equitable relief, declaratory relief, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
Pierce is represented by Kenneth W. Biermacher of Kane Russell Coleman Logan PC; Kent A. Heitzinger of Kent A. Heitzinger & Associates; and Terrence Buehler of The Law Office of Terrence Buehler.
The Nature Nate’s 100% Raw Honey Class Action Lawsuit is Pierce v. North Dallas Honey Company, Case No. 3:19-cv-00410-B, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
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573 thoughts onNature Nate’s Class Action Lawsuit Says 100% Raw Honey is Mislabeled
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This article and the accompanying video are misleading and false. I have been in the honey business now for two years and have developed enough experience and knowledge to know about honey much more than these attorneys and followers are commenting on. First off, there are different types of enzymes in different types of honey, all of which have different break down temperature points when heat is applied. Also, there is a lot of debate as to what that break down temperature actually is, which is complicated by a lot of debate within the honey community and industry about what the actual temperature is. The general rule is that the enzymes in honey break down beyond a temperature of 120 degrees. Anything up to 120 degrees is held to be “safe.” There are companies that will advertise their honey as not being heated past 100 degrees, 105 degrees, 115 degrees, even 120 degrees, to bolster their marketing efforts of the quality of their honey. This is all subjective marketing and all are within the range of the generally accepted temperature levels. I am discouraged by this article and the adjoined video that once again makes statements and dialogue that presents something as true, without doing any research or speaking from a position of informed truth to comment on a matter they know nothing about. The only thing that was spoken as truth in these dialogues is that there is a lawsuit. The end.
Having said that, what IS interesting about this case is the information that this article and video don’t even talk about. I am in now way defending Nature Nate’s innocence in this case, but the points made above do not lie in the realm of truth. My second point addresses this. The truth is that there is something called an HMF score that, internationally, should not exceed 40. The lawsuit claims that Nature Nate’s HMF score was 292, which is more than 7 times the threshold score of 40. The HMF score indicates the level of break down of enzymes in honey, and so the fact that Nature Nate’s honey has such a high HMF score does indicate that there are temperatures being applied that are “cooking” and killing the enzymes in their product. The question IS how is that heat being applied? Is Nature Nate’s doing it themselves, is it their suppliers, is it happening in the shipping trucks (which routinely have high internal temperatures in their cargo holds), or is it another factor. The fact that their honey is in plastic bottles when encountering this heat may be a factor that is not being taken into account, especially with having an HMF score that is so extremely high. We do not know at this point and must wait for the investigative results to clarify this.
The final point is that there is some discussion that this honey is not raw because of things that are called ‘fillers’ that are being added to the honey – things like high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar water, etc. This, in fact, makes it no longer honey in any form – raw or otherwise. It is now what the FDA has instructed manufacturers of non-honey honey’s to call ‘Blended Honey,” because of it’s mixture of additional ingredients. The problem with the honey industry in the United States is that we consume 3 times as much honey as we actually produce. Which means we are getting a lot of our honey from outside of the U.S. A recent report from an independent agency said that 80% of the honey we eat in the U.S. is not real honey and has been adulterated in some form – sugars, syrups, chemicals, etc. Another factor that makes it hard to know if what you are eating is real honey is the fact that a label does not always tell the truth behind a honey product, as many companies and efforts employ masking to cover up what their honey truly is so they can obtain a better price point for their honey. This practice has been going on for some time now, and while we have testing centers around the country whose very job is to test honey to ensure its authenticity, the players in the honey industry are constantly finding ways to fool the tests, which requires an ongoing struggle to find new ways to test honey to ensure its quality and truth in labeling.
My advice is to do your research. Honey is SO good for our bodies and has amazing health benefits. Be willing to spend more for the REAL thing, because the health benefits far outweigh the convenience of getting a honey-bear bottle of honey in plastic. Look for honey in glass jars, as the glass does not leech toxins into the honey like plastic does, especially when heat is applied – through shipping, contact with the sun, over time, or whatever. All my best to those seeking the benefits of honey. May your fight for truth and the raw honey we seek be successful!
We used to run a maple syrup farm. We could easily tell the real deal from tainted syrup — still can. I also keep bees, taste other local keepers’ honeys, etc., etc. Today, I’m at a house that only has Nature Nate’s honey. I tasted it thinking it would be good because of the labeling. This is not pure honey by a long shot. It’s had something added that isn’t honey.
The local beekeeper, that I know by name, is the only supplier I can trust.
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I bought this honey, unfortunately. Shortly after i saw this class action page, Costco took this honey off the shelves. I contacted nature nate’s on social media to get some info. Sent email. They never replied. When a business keeps quiet about something it tells me they have secrets. I don’t like being cheated. Whoever has access to a lab to test their shady honey should get it tested and proceed with the law suit if they find something suspicious.
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We pay top dollars for this honey! Why do people cheat! Its dishonest!
I just found out about this after using the product for about a year. It’s upsetting, because I paid so much money for the product, but didn’t get the nutritional benefits.
So what other honey companies started this lawsuit?
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Add me. Buy this all the time.