Kraft Faces Two All Natural Class Action Lawsuits

Kraft Foods Group is facing an all natural class action lawsuit over claims that it falsely marketed its fat-free cheddar cheese as “natural” when it allegedly contains artificial ingredients.

U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt certified a Class of consumers, which brought the all natural class action lawsuit against the company; however, he restricted the Class to people who had bought the product because of its all natural labeling and therefore had been “misled” by the company. He rejected Kraft’s argument that Plaintiffs Claudia M. and Mocha G. could not prove that the term misled them, finding that it would have misled a “reasonable” consumer.

“Plaintiffs are not required to demonstrate that each class member detrimentally relied on Kraft’s use of the term ‘natural cheese,'” Kronstadt concluded. “Instead, they must show that plaintiffs themselves relied on the use of the term and that a reasonable consumer would have done the same. As stated in their declarations, each named plaintiff claims to have relied on the alleged misrepresentation.”

According to the all natural lawsuit, which will now be heard by a federal court, Kraft Natural Cheese, Shredded Cheese, and Cheddar Fat Free product contain artificial coloring. The all natural class action lawsuit alleges that the coloring pose health concerns, such as hyperactivity or allergic reactions in children.

The cheese is the latest in a string of US all natural class action lawsuits against Kraft and other companies, challenging the use of the term “natural” by the food industry. A northern California man also filed an all natural class action lawsuit against Kraft Foods that alleges that the company’s Capri Sun juice contains artificial ingredients despite its ‘all natural’ label.

The Kraft all natural class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Yuri O. states that Capri Sun included “unnatural ingredients,” such as citric acid and “natural flavor.” The all natural class action lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages, court costs, and class status for consumers that purchased Capri Sun over the past four years.

“The market for all natural foods has grown rapidly in the past few years, a trend [Kraft] seeks to take advantage of through the subject false and misleading advertising,” attorneys wrote in the filing of this all natural class action suit.

What Does Natural or All Natural Mean?

In 2013, according to Nielsen, foods labeled “natural” generated $43 billion in sales. That’s more than five times the figure for foods carrying an “organic” label ($8.9 billion). A new Consumer Reports survey of 1,000 people found that two-thirds of respondents believed that a natural food packaging label meant that a food contained:

• No artificial materials during processing
• No pesticides
• No artificial ingredients
• No GMOs

More than half of those surveyed said that they specifically looked for a natural label on their foods. However, there are no real federal regulations around the word “natural.” The FDA has an informal policy that it issued in 1993, which gently recommends that manufacturers use the term “natural” if  “nothing artificial or synthetic . . . has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in the food.”

Natural Food Labeling Lawsuits

Even with the lack of regulation, plaintiffs can sue companies individually for false advertising, and in recent years, consumers have done just that. Companies like PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, and Pepperidge Farms have all been accused of falsely marketing their products as natural or all natural, and this only scratches the surface of the number of companies that are making these all natural claims.

If you or someone you love has suffered because of a deceptive, misleading, or all natural food label, you may be able to file a natural foods labeling lawsuit.