Kraft Fights ‘Natural’ Cheese False Ad Class Action Lawsuit

Kraft Foods Group Inc. asked a California federal judge not to grant partial summary judgment in a false advertising class action lawsuit accusing the food company of including artificial ingredients in its “natural” fat-free cheddar cheese.

Plaintiffs Claudia Morales and Mocha Gunaratna filed the Kraft natural cheese class action lawsuit in May 2014, alleging the company’s “Kraft Natural Cheese – Shredded Cheese – Cheddar Fat-Free” product contains artificial food coloring.

Kraft argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations sometimes require natural ingredients to be labeled as “artificial,” and that the Kraft cheese class action lawsuit is based on a “fundamental misreading” of the FDA’s regulations regarding artificial coloring.

“As the FDA has explained, ‘artificial coloring’ does not equal ‘artificial ingredients,’” Kraft argues. “Under FDA regulations, if any substance – even a natural one – contributes to the color of a food product, it is considered a ‘color additive’ that must be labeled as an ‘artificial coloring.’”

According to Kraft, the plaintiffs failed to offer any evidence that the ingredients at issue are artificial. “Had they reviewed the FDA regulations or the factual evidence, they would know that the two challenged ingredients are natural … and titanium dioxide is a form of mineral that exists in nature,” Kraft states, arguing that the “natural” label on the Kraft cheese product at issue is accurate.

“The term ‘Natural Cheese’ is not a marketing term, and it has nothing to do with whether there is any artificial ingredient in the product,” Kraft argues. “Rather, as the U.S. government and federal courts have long recognized, the term ‘Natural Cheese’ is a widely-used term to identify cheese made directly from milk (in contrast with ‘process cheese,’ which is made from an amalgamation of different ingredients).”

In September 2014, the Kraft cheese class action lawsuit was dismissed after a California federal judge found the plaintiffs’ claims were not specific enough to meet pleading standards. The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint to address the judge’s concerns.

Kraft asked the judge to stay the proceedings until the FDA and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals are currently considering how the term “natural” can be used on food labels, and their conclusions could affect the outcome of the Kraft natural cheese class action lawsuit.

A couple of months ago, the plaintiffs urged the judge to make a decision regarding the Kraft natural cheese class action lawsuit, as the issue of using the term “natural” has not changed over the last 25 years. They asked the judge to determine if Kraft violated consumer protection and false advertising laws with regard to the “natural” label.

A hearing for the Kraft natural cheese class action lawsuit has been scheduled for June 13 with U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt.

The plaintiffs are represented by Ryan Clarkson and Shireen Clarkson of Clarkson Law Firm PC and Gillian Wade and Sara Avila of Milstein Adelman LLP.

The Kraft Natural Cheese Class Action Lawsuit is Claudia Morales, et al. v. Kraft Foods Group Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-04387, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On May 30, 2016, the plaintiffs argued that Kraft Foods has “flip-flopped” its position on artificial ingredients in their motion for partial summary judgment.

UPDATE 2: On June 13, 2016, a California federal judge tentatively rejected consumers’ bid for class certification in a lawsuit alleging Kraft Foods falsely labeled certain cheese products as “natural,” stating that the case is more complicated that previously thought.

UPDATE 3: On Sept. 5, 2016, the plaintiffs in a Kraft class action lawsuit say Kraft’s motion for summary judgment should be denied now that enough evidence is in the record to show the company may have labeled some of its products deceptively.

UPDATE 4: On Dec. 6, 2016, Kraft lost its renewed motion to stay a consumer class action lawsuit over claims it falsely marketed its shredded fat free cheddar cheese as “natural” when it allegedly contains artificial ingredients, flavor, and coloring.

UPDATE 5: On February 15, 2017, Kraft filed a motion to decertify the class action lawsuit which alleges the company does not use “all natural” ingredients.