Nestle Class Action Says ‘No GMO’ Labels Are Misleading

Last week, Nestle USA Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit accusing it of including a misleading “No GMO Ingredients” certificate of approval that leads consumers to falsely believe the certificate is granted by an independent third-party.

Plaintiff Jennifer Latiff claims that consumers are increasingly more aware of the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their foods and seek to avoid GMOs for a variety of reasons.

At the same time, consumers are increasingly aware of seals granted by independent third-parties that approve certain products and often purchase those products based on these seals or certificates, the Nestle class action states.

According to the Nestle class action lawsuit, a new industry of independent third party validation companies has developed to review ingredients to ensure that they do not contain GMOs or do not come from animals that have been fed GMOs.

When products are approved by these independent third parties, it allows companies to gain an advantage over their competitors in order to sell more products and charge higher prices.

In response to the growing independent certification industry, the Federal Trade Commission has warned companies against misrepresenting a product as being endorsed or certified by an independent third party.

Latiff claims that Nestle has violated the FTC’s principles by affixing a No GMO Ingredients seal to its products to convince consumers that they have been evaluated and approved by an independent third party.

“Unfortunately for consumers, these representations by Defendant are false,” the Nestle class action lawsuit says. An investigation by Latiff’s attorneys reportedly showed that the No GMO Ingredients seal was not granted by an independent third party, but instead was granted by Nestle.

“No GMO Ingredients™ is not a designation bestowed by a non-profit group, or even a neutral third party, but instead is the creation of Defendant,” the Nestle GMO class action lawsuit says. “In other words, the No GMO Ingredients™ seal of approval is nothing more than Defendant touting its own Products.”

Nestle intentionally designs its labels to mimic the appearance of independent verifiers’ seals, like the Non-GMO Project, the Nestle class action lawsuit says.

Headquartered in Bellingham, Wash., the Non-GMO Project was founded in 2007 and runs The Product Verification Project, which verifies that products are not derived from GMO crops, or that milk or meat products are not from animals that have been fed GMO crops and assigns products that meet these standards a seal of approval.

According to the Nestle GMO class action lawsuit, Nestle’s No GMO Ingredients™ seal of approval mimics the Non-GMO Project seal.

Latiff says that many of Nestle’s products that are labeled with the No GMO Ingredients seal are actually derived from GMOs.

She says she purchased several Nestle products containing the No GMO Ingredients seal, including Lean Cuisine Marketplace frozen dinners and Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss creamer.

According to the Nestle class action lawsuit, she purchased the products because she believed they were non-GMO.

By filing the Nestle GMO class action lawsuit, Latiff seeks to represent herself and a proposed Class of consumers who purchased Nestle products bearing the No GMO Ingredients™ label within the applicable statute of limitations period.

Latiff is represented by Michael R. Reese and George V. Granade of Reese LLP and by Daniel L. Warshaw and Bobby Pouya of Pearson Simon & Warshaw LLP.

The Nestle GMO Labeling Class Action Lawsuit is Jennifer Latiff v. Nestle USA Inc., Case No. 2:18-cv-06503, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division.

UPDATE: On Nov. 13, 2018, a Nestle class action lawsuit over genetically modified ingredients should go on, according to the consumers who filed the claim.

UPDATE 2: On Sept. 19, 2019, a federal judge denied Nestle’s bid to have a “no GMO” labeling class action lawsuit dismissed after finding that the plaintiffs sufficiently established their argument that the GMO labeling on Nestle products could indeed mislead customers.