Florida’s Natural Orange Juice Isn’t Natural, Class Action Says

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Consumers in a class action lawsuit claim Florida’s Natural Orange Juice isn’t natural, as advertised.

Plaintiff Alexandra Axon says she purchased Florida’s Natural Orange Juice at a store in Brooklyn, New York.

She claims that she purchased the product specifically because it was labeled as “natural,” trusting the validity of the label to make her purchasing decision.

However, she alleges that independent testing revealed that the product contains glyphosate, a synthetic biocide, which is not natural.

She claims that as a result, defendants Citrus World Inc. and Florida’s Natural Growers Inc. misrepresent their products.

The Florida’s Natural Orange Juice class action states that had Axon known that the product contained glyphosate, she would not have purchased it at all, or would not have paid as much as she did for it.

Allegedly, Florida’s Natural Orange Juice costs more than comparable products not necessarily advertised as natural.

Axon claims that Citrus World Inc. is able to charge a premium for the product because consumers have a preference for natural foods, because they see them as better for their health and the environment.

As a result, consumers are allegedly willing to pay more for natural foods, and did pay more for Florida’s Natural Orange Juice than other juices, based on a false advertisement of the nature of the product.

Axon claims that if the company were to alter the products to match the “natural” claims on the labels, she would be willing to purchase Florida’s Natural Orange Juice again.

The Florida’s Natural false advertising class action lawsuit claims that a range of Florida’s Natural juices are falsely advertised, including the following:

• Florida’s Natural Orange Juice with No Pulp
• Florida’s Natural Orange Juice with Some Pulp
• Florida’s Natural Orange Juice with Most Pulp
• Florida’s Natural Orange Juice with Calcium and Vitamin D and No Pulp
• Florida’s Natural Orange Juice with Calcium and Vitamin D and Some Pulp

The Florida’s Natural labeling class action lawsuit claims that glyphosate, the chemical allegedly in the juices that is not natural, is a biocide that occurs in pesticides used to kill weeds.

Allegedly, it is a synthetically produced chemical that is not naturally occurring, and is not a common part of the orange juice production process.

The Florida’s Natural misleading labeling class action lawsuit claims that the company not only misrepresents the product by using the word “natural,” but by using marketing visuals that imply that the juice in the carton is virtually what comes out of the orange.

The orange juice marketing class action lawsuit claims that the presence of an orange dripping with juice contributes to this implication.

Additionally, the company allegedly advertises their packing and manufacturing process as more natural than other manufacturing processes.

Allegedly, they have widespread communications present to the public that claim that the processing of Florida’s Natural uses only flash pasteurization, whereas other juices are made from concentrate and pasteurization.

Alexandra Axon is represented by Kim E. Richman of the Richman Law Group and D. Greg Blankinship and Todd S. Garber of Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP.

The Florida’s Natural Orange Juice Class Action Lawsuit is Alexandra Axon v. Citrus World Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-04162-ARR-RML, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.