Pepperidge Farm can’t ditch Goldfish snacks class action

Update:

• On March 26, 2025, a New York federal judge ruled that the case against Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish snacks can proceed based on claims it falsely advertised the snacks as containing “no artificial flavors or preservatives.”
• In January 2024, a class action lawsuit against the company claimed the product uses an artificial form of citric acid, an allegedly “known artificial preservative commonly used in food products.”
• Pepperidge Farm tried to argue that the plaintiff could not prove the citric acid was artificial, nor that it was expressly used as a preservative.
• Judge Carter also rejected Pepperidge Farm’s contention that the FDA doesn’t require labeling citric acid as a preservative unless it acts like one in a food product.

Goldfish snacks false advertising class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Veronika Ward filed a class action lawsuit against Pepperidge Farm Inc. 
• Why: Ward claims Pepperidge Farm falsely advertises that its Goldfish Flavor Blasted Baked Snack Crackers products contain no artificial flavor or preservatives. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court. 

Pepperidge Farm falsely advertises that its Goldfish Flavor Blasted Baked Snack Crackers have no artificial flavors or preservatives, when, in reality, they contain citric acid, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Veronika Ward claims Pepperidge Farm is misleading health-conscious consumers who look to purchase foods that are free of preservatives. 

“Defendant markets its Products in a systematically misleading manner by misrepresenting that the Products do not contain artificial preservatives,” the Pepperidge Farm class action states. 

Ward wants to represent a nationwide class and New York subclass of consumers who have purchased Pepperidge Farms’ Goldfish Flavor Blasted Baked Snack Crackers products. 

Crackers contain citric acid, a ‘known artificial preservative,’ class action says 

Ward argues the Goldfish Flavor Blasted Baked Snack Crackers products contain citric acid, an allegedly “known artificial preservative commonly used in food products.” 

“Food scientists agree that the chemical properties of citric acid make it a preservative,” the Goldfish class action states. “Specifically, citric acid is classified as an antioxidant that delays or prevents the deterioration of foods by so-called oxidative mechanisms.” 

Ward claims Pepperidge Farm is guilty of unjust enrichment and breach of express warranty and of violating New York General Business Law. 

The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with an award of compensatory and statutory damages for herself and all class members. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed against Pepperidge Farm and Campbell Soup Co. in 2021 over claims the companies falsely advertised that their Goldfish snacks contained “0g sugars” despite allegedly being made with wheat flour, which naturally contains sugar. 

Have you purchased Pepperidge Farms’ Goldfish Flavor Blasted Baked Snack Crackers products? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Julian C. Diamond, Alec Leslie and Israel Rosenberg of Bursor & Fisher, P.A. 

The Goldfish snacks false advertising class action lawsuit is Ward, et al. v. Pepperidge Farm Inc., Case No. 1:24-cv-00078, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

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