‘All Natural’ Food Products May Not Be Natural

Many food products are now sporting “natural” or “all natural” food labels on numerous brand name food products.

Since food manufacturers and marketers became aware that health-conscious consumers are willing to pay a premium for natural food products and will often buy a product labeled as “Natural” over one that is not, market analysts have seen a rise in the use of these labels in the marketing of food products.

However, recent reports and consumer class action lawsuits have revealed that many of these so-called “All Natural” food products actually contain artificial ingredients, chemical preservatives, and other unnatural additives. By using deceptive labeling tactics, various brand-name food companies may be tricking consumers into purchasing more expensive food products.

Natural Food Labeling Trends

According to a news report by The Wall Street Journal, food products bearing the natural or all-natural label made $40 billion in retail sales in the United States alone during 2013. Market research also indicates that about 51 percent of American shoppers actively search for all-natural or natural food product labels when grocery shopping.

However, because of natural food labeling class action lawsuits, many companies such as Pepsi and Campbell Soup Company have been forced to remove these natural food claims from their products.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have a hard-and-fast definition for what food ingredients are considered “natural” or “unnatural,” the agency does have a long-standing policy that considers the use of the term “natural” to mean: “nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in the food.”

A reasonable consumer would then assume that products bearing a natural food label would not contain chemical or artificial ingredients. When some consumers discover that their so-called “all natural” food they purchase contained non-natural products, they may feel that they have been deceived by the company and choose to file a class action lawsuit.

All Natural Foods Litigation

Class action lawyers are searching for consumers who may have been deceived into paying more for certain food products because they featured an “All Natural” label or were marketed as a natural food product. Some companies currently under the legal radar for allegedly using deceptive labels and/or marketing include:

• Bear Naked Inc.
• Kashi Co.
• Whole Foods Market Inc.
• Trader Joe’s Inc.
• Diamond Foods Inc.
• Unilever PLC (the manufacturer of Pure Leaf Iced Tea)
• Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Holdings Inc.
• Beam Inc. (the manufacturer of Skinnygirl alcohol drinks)
• PepsiCo Inc.
• General Mills Inc.
• Gruma Corp.

Joining a class action lawsuit can help consumers who have paid a premium for supposedly all-natural food products to recover some of the money they spent on the allegedly misbranded or mislabeled products.

For example, in June of last year, Kashi Co. and Bear Naked Inc. reached a class action settlement, resulting in many consumers receiving compensation for the money they spent on allegedly mislabeled “natural” snack foods manufactured by these companies.

If you or someone you know bought a food product because it featured an all natural food label or packing containing natural food labeling and paid a premium for that product, you may have a legal claim. An all natural class action lawsuit could help you obtain compensation for the money spent on natural food products, which tend to be more expensive than products not featuring a natural label.

Free All-Natural Food Label Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

Did you purchase a food product because the label said it was “Natural,” “All Natural,” “100% Natural” or used a similar term?

Some food products labeled “Natural,” “All Natural,” or “100% Natural” are not, in fact, natural because they contain unnatural ingredients, such as artificial additives, synthetic vitamins, and/or chemical preservatives.

Free Investigation