Nothing Natural About McDonald’s Ice Cream Flavor, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

A McDonald’s class action lawsuit claims the fast food giant is misleading customers by labeling its vanilla ice cream as naturally flavored.

In fact, plaintiff Eugina Harris says McDonald’s vanilla ice cream contains artificial flavors despite having “natural flavor” listed in the ingredients. 

There’s “less vanilla than consumers expect,” the class action lawsuit contends, adding McDonald’s vanilla ice cream actually contains a synthetically produced flavor, vanillin.

The class action lawsuit claims that McDonald’s ice cream is marketed in a way to lead the customer to believe the product is made with naturally occurring vanilla. 

“The representations for the Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream are misleading because this gives consumers the impression that all of the vanilla taste is from vanilla beans, when this is not true and misleads consumers,” Harris said. 

This will not be the first time McDonald’s faces legal action over its vanilla ice cream cones. In March, a class action lawsuit was filed alleging the same thing: McDonald’s vanilla ice cream is not naturally flavored, despite advertising promoting it as such.  

Beyond the move to have the false advertising stopped, the class action lawsuit also wants to collect damages. Harris claims a premium is charged for McDonald’s vanilla ice cream. 

“Plaintiff would not have purchased or paid more for the Product had Plaintiff realized that much, if not all, of the vanilla flavor came from non-vanilla plant sources,” according to the McDonald’s class action lawsuit.

Additionally, the class action lawsuit is seeking potential Class Members “residing in California who have purchased McDonald’s Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream and other dessert items which feature the Vanilla Soft Serve, i.e., Vanilla Shake, for their own use” since 2014. 

The class action lawsuit alleges violations of California’s Business and Professions code. Specifically provisions of the law that prohibit unlawful, unfair or fraudulent conduct, as well as false and misleading advertising. 

Furthermore, the class action lawsuit asserts “vanilla flavors are the only flavorings subject to a standard of identity.”

Harris reportedly had samples of McDonald’s vanilla ice cream sent to a lab for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, a scientific method to determine the authenticity of vanilla flavoring in food. 

The tests showed McDonald’s vanilla ice cream “contains less real vanilla and contains added vanillin,” further asserting “This added vanillin is from non-vanilla sources, such as rice bran or wood pulp,” according to the class action lawsuit. 

“Industry leaders supported vanilla standards to “insure, for the protection of both the consumers and our industry, that all vanilla products are correctly labeled and meet at least minimum standards,” the plaintiff said. 

Specifically, Harris points to Food and Drug Administration laws protecting this standard, citing “over the 100 known species of vanilla orchids… only two sub-species of flat-leaved vanilla are recognized” by the FDA. 

“The federal standard of identity for vanilla flavorings applies to both the flavorings sold directly to consumers and to food manufacturers,” the class action lawsuit claims. 

These standards came about, according to the plaintiff, with rising consumer trends avoiding artificially flavored ingredients. 

“Food companies are dropping artificial flavors, coloring, preservatives and other additives with scary names and focusing more on natural, wholesome and fresh ingredients,” Harris said. 

While consumer trends have been moving towards food that uses less artificial ingredients, certain ingredients, including vanilla, are running scarce.  

In 2017, a cyclone destroyed a third of Madagascar’s vanilla crop, which totaled about 85% of the world’s supply. 

The class action lawsuit says these “global climate disruptions” hitting the vanilla industry have led food companies “to cut corners” while selling “premium vanilla” products.

Did you buy McDonald’s vanilla ice cream with expectations of it being naturally flavored? Let us know in the comments below.  

Harris is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC and Scott Borison of Borison Firm LLC. 

The McDonald’s Ice Cream Class Action Lawsuit is Harris v. McDonald’s Corp., Case No. 3:20-cv-06533-LB, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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