Pringles Class Action Says Salt & Vinegar Chips Contain Artificial Flavors

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Kellogg Company, Kellogg Sales Company and Pringles LLC are facing a class action lawsuit alleging they falsely represent that Pringles Salt and Vinegar Flavored Potato Crisps are flavored only with natural ingredients.

Plaintiffs Barry Allred and Mandy C. Allred say the packaging of Pringles Salt and Vinegar Flavored Potato Crisps falsely represents that the chips are “flavored only with natural ingredients, when in fact it contains undisclosed artificial flavors in violation of state and federal law.”

The plaintiffs allege that the Pringles packaging leads consumers to believe they are purchasing an “all natural” product. According to the Pringles class action lawsuit, the packaging, labeling and advertising of the Pringles Salt and Vinegar chips give the impression that the flavoring comes from real vinegar, when it’s actually artificial.

Although the Pringles Salt and Vinegar chips do contain real vinegar, the Allreds claim that the amount of vinegar in the product is too small to taste. According to the Pringles class action lawsuit, the chips’ flavor comes from synthetic forms of sodium diacetate and malic acid.

The Allreds claim they have purchased Pringles Salt and Vinegar chips since at least 2012. They say that the alleged mislabeling of the product duped them into paying a higher price for what they believed was a premium product with natural flavoring.

According to the Pringles Salt and Vinegar class action lawsuit, the Allreds recently learned that the chips contain artificial flavors.

The Allreds filed the Pringles class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a proposed Class of consumers who purchased Pringles Salt and Vinegar Flavored Potato Crisps in California in the last six years.

The Pringles class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and breach of express and implied warranties. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, restitution, disgorgement, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees.

The Allreds recently filed a similar class action lawsuit against Frito-Lay Inc., claiming that Lay’s Salt & Vinegar chips are labeled as if they contain no artificial flavors when it actually contains artificial ingredients.

The Lay’s class action lawsuit claims the chips’ salt and vinegar seasoning contains maltodextrin, natural flavors, salt, malic acid, and a small amount of vinegar, which they say contradicts the company’s claim that the chips are made with “just the right balance of tangy vinegar.”

The Pringles natural flavoring class action lawsuit was initially filed by in San Diego Superior Court on May 11, 2017 and was transferred to the U.S District Court for the Southern District of California last week.

The plaintiffs are represented by David Elliot of the Elliot Law Firm and Ronald A. Marron of the Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron APLC.

The Pringles Salt and Vinegar Chips Class Action Lawsuit is Barry Allred and Mandy C. Allred v. Kellogg Company, et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-01354-AJB-BLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: On Feb. 23, 2018, a federal judge ruled that food giant Kellogg can’t dodge a class action lawsuit alleging Pringles Salt and Vinegar chips are falsely advertised.