Vita Coco Class Action Says Coconut Oil Label Misleads Consumers

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All Market’s Vita Coco Coconut Oil label deceives consumers into thinking the product is a healthy food, according to a recently filed class action lawsuit.

Plaintiff Kenneth Gilbert of California says All Market falsely markets its Vita Coco Coconut Oil as a healthy food and a healthier alternative to butter, when in fact it’s actually less healthy.

Gilbert claims All Market is taking advantage of consumers’ interest in healthier foods to charge them a higher price for Vita Coco and to increase sales.

His Vita Coco class action lawsuit shows a picture of the product’s label, which makes claims that Vita Coco can offer health benefits as a dietary supplement and that it has less cholesterol than butter.

Gilbert argues that the high saturated fat content of Vita Coco Coconut Oil should preclude All Market from advertising it as a healthy food.

The Vita Coco class action lawsuit shows an image of the nutrition information label for the coconut oil. The label says that a 14-gram serving of Vita Coco contains 12 grams of saturated fat.

“In other words, Vita Coco coconut oil is 100% fat, 86% of which is saturated fat,” the class actions states.

Consumption of saturated fat causes the body to produce more low-density lipoproteins – known as LDL, or “bad” cholesterol – and increases levels of overall blood serum cholesterol. That in turn puts persons at a higher risk for heart disease and stroke, Gilbert says.

Even small amounts of saturated fat intake can raise cholesterol levels, Gilbert claims. He quotes a report from the Institute of Medicine’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee saying there is “no safe level” of saturated fat intake because “any incremental increase in saturated fatty acid intake increases [coronary heart disease] risk.”

Studies that focus specifically on coconut oil also revealed that reducing coconut oil consumption “results in a lipid profile that is associated with a low cardiovascular risk,” according to Gilbert.

One study that compared the effects of coconut oil to those of beef fat and safflower oil found that coconut oil had “the worst effects on subjects’ blood lipid profiles,” he claims.

Because Vita Coco has such a high proportion of saturated fat, All Market can’t truthfully advertise it as a healthier alternative to other sources of fat, Gilbert argues. He points out that Vita Coco contains more saturated fat than butter, canola oil and olive oil

Gilbert is proposing a plaintiff Class that would consist of all persons in California who purchased All Market’s Vita Coco Coconut Oil for their own personal or household use any time between Aug. 1, 2014 and the date the Class is notified.

He seeks a court order requiring All Market to stop using any false, misleading or unlawful labeling and to engage in a corrective advertising campaign. He also seeks statutory, compensatory and punitive damages, restitution of all funds gained via the allegedly unlawful advertising, and reimbursement of court costs and attorneys’ fees.

Gilbert is represented by attorneys Jack Fitzgerald, Trevor M. Flynn and Melanie Persinger of The Law Office of Jack Fitzgerald PC and Paul K. Joseph of The Law Office of Paul K. Joseph PC.

The All Market Vita Coco Coconut Oil Class Action Lawsuit is Kenneth Gilbert v. All Market Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-06510, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.