Walmart Class Action Says Great Value Ice Cream Lacks Vanilla

A Walmart class action claims that the retailer’s Great Value vanilla ice cream contains undisclosed flavoring.

Vanilla ice cream is a classic dessert enjoyed by countless Americans each year. Due to its popularity, the flavor is reportedly at risk for food fraud – a type of trickery which aims to pass off a product as being higher quality that it is.

Plaintiff Jennifer Legrier claims that Walmart’s Great Value vanilla ice cream is fraudulently labeled as “Vanilla Ice Cream” despite containing natural flavorings.

On the ingredient list of the Great Value ice cream, it is disclosed that the dessert is flavored with “Natural Flavors (with Vanilla Extract)” and “Vanilla Bean Specs.” Despite the addition of flavoring ingredients, the Walmart Great Value vanilla ice cream allegedly contains no qualifying statements on its label.

Legrier argues that the labeling deceives consumers into believing that the products are flavored only with vanilla beans and vanilla extracts. Consumers are allegedly left with the impression that Great Value vanilla ice cream is of the same quality as competitor brands that contain vanilla bean and vanilla extract in their ingredient lists.

“Defendant’s Product is misleading because it is represented as identical to another product which contains higher quality ingredients, which causes consumers to be misled and purchase the former expecting the two products to be identical in quality and fill,” the Walmart ice cream class action claims.

Fraudulent vanilla products may contain additional flavorings other than vanilla extract or other pure vanilla bean flavors. These products may include natural vanillin flavorings derived from tree bark, clove oil, or recycled paper which mimic the flavor of vanilla or reinforce the flavor from a trace amount of vanilla extract.

In order to protect consumers from food fraud, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires product labeling to disclose the presence of artificial or natural flavorings if the flavorings reinforce the “characterizing flavor” of a product.

Under FDA rules, only a vanilla ice cream product containing no additional flavorings is allowed to be labeled as “Vanilla Ice Cream.” If a vanilla ice cream product contains natural flavors, it reportedly needs to be labeled as “Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream.” If any additional flavors are artificial, the product should allegedly be labeled as “Artificially Flavored Vanilla Ice Cream.”

The Walmart class action claims that had consumers known that the Great Value vanilla ice cream didn’t contain vanilla they would not have purchased the products or would not have paid the same price.

Legrier seeks to represent a Class of consumers from all states who purchased Walmart Great Value vanilla ice cream. The Walmart class action seeks injunctive relief, monetary damages, treble damages, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Did you purchase Walmart’s Great Value Vanilla Bean Ice Cream? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Legrier and the proposed Class are represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Walmart Ice Cream Class Action Lawsuit is Legrier v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-10433, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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