Kimlan Foods Class Action Calls ‘No Preservatives’ Label Misleading

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Kimlan Foods Co. Ltd. and Golden Orchid Ltd. d/b/a Kimlan Foods USA have been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging they mislabeled their jarred radishes and cucumbers as having no preservatives even though they contain citric acid, a “highly chemically processed” preservative.

Plaintiff Miao Xin Hu of Brooklyn claims that she relied on the “no preservatives” label when she decided to purchase a jar of Kimlan Foods’ pickled cucumbers. However, the products contain citric acid, an allegedly “non-natural, highly chemically processed ingredient regularly used as a preservative,” the Kimlan class action lawsuit alleges.

According to the deceptive marketing class action lawsuit, Hu purchased numerous Kimlan products, including a 14-ounce jar of Kimlan Pickled Cucumber, at a purchase price of $2.99 or more. She does admit that the product label listed citric acid as an ingredient, but she says it was not properly disclosed as a preservative.

“Plaintiff Hu purchased the Products at a premium price and was financially injured as a result of Defendants’ deceptive conduct,” the Kimlan Foods class action lawsuit alleges. “Further, should Plaintiff Hu encounter the Products in the future, she could not rely on the truthfulness of the packaging, absent corrective changes to the packaging.”

According to the Kimlan Foods class action lawsuit, Hu would be willing to purchase the same product as long as Kimlan engages in corrective advertising, but not at the same purchase price.

Hu claims that citric acid is used in Kimlan pickled cucumber, Kimlan chili radish and other jarred Kimlan products that contain citric acid despite the “no preservatives” label.

The Kimlan Foods class action lawsuit points to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, which states that a food product should be “deemed misbranded” or its label interpreted as false or misleading if it contains artificial flavoring, artificial coloring or chemical preservative, “unless it bears labeling stating that fact… .”

Hu alleges that she paid more for the products than she would have paid had she known they contained chemical preservatives. She seeks to represent a nationwide Class and a subclass of New Yorkers who purchased the allegedly mislabeled Kimlan products in the United States.

“By marketing the Products as being free of preservatives, Defendants wrongfully capitalized on and reaped enormous profits from consumers’ strong preference for food products without the addition of preservatives,” the Kimlan class action lawsuit alleges.

Hu claims that the Kimlan defendants market their products in a manner that violates the consumer protection laws of all 50 states and the District Columbia. As a result of this deceptive marketing, Kimlan has been unjustly enriched, according to the no preservatives class action lawsuit.

The Kimlan Foods class action lawsuit asserts violations of the New York Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, negligent misrepresentation, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment.

Hu is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group.

The Kimlan Foods No Preservatives Class Action Lawsuit is Hu v. Golden Orchid Ltd. d/b/a Kimlan Foods USA, Case No. 1:16-cv-02234, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.