Crisco Class Action Says Olive Oil Spray is Deceptively Labeled

A class action lawsuit alleges that Crisco 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil No-Stick Spray is falsely marketed as being real extra virgin olive oil.

Plaintiff Shelly Robinson of California has filed a class action against The J.M. Smucker Company over claims that Crisco is taking advantage of the growing olive oil craze and implementing false advertising to market their product as extra virgin olive oil.

In an increasingly health conscious America, extra virgin olive oil has become the cooking oil of choice for many home chefs. Extra virgin olive oil is created by pressing the oil out of olives without the use of heat. Lacking the fat content of butter but still possessing a flavorful taste, olive oil is growing in popularity.

“Defendant’s misrepresentations regarding Crisco EVOO are designed to, and did, lead Plaintiff and [Class Members] to believe that Crisco EVOO in fact is Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Plaintiff and members of the Class relied on Defendant’s misrepresentations and would not have paid as much, if at all, for Crisco EVOO but for Defendant’s misrepresentations,” the Crisco class action lawsuit states.

According to Robinson’s Crisco oil spray class action, “extensive clinical testing conducted by a leading laboratory” revealed that the Crisco cooking spray is not actually extra virgin olive oil.

Laboratory testing allegedly found a variety of variables including insoluble impurities, free fatty acid, peroxide value, specific extinction, ultraviolet absorption, sensory analysis, copper content, and moisture content. An analysis of these variables “conclusively establishes that Crisco EVOO is not Extra Virgin Olive Oil.”

In her Crisco class action lawsuit, Robinson aims to hold Smucker accountable for alleged false advertising under California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

The Act prohibits “misrepresenting that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities which they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection which he or she does not have.”

Robinson claims that Smucker’s actions are in direct violation of this law.

In addition to false advertising claims, Robinson brings allegations that Smucker intentionally mislabeled and advertised their product in a way that would induce consumers to pay a higher price for the cooking spray.

The Crisco class action argues that this behavior constitutes unlawful, fraudulent, and unfair business practices.

“Defendant’s business practices, as alleged herein, are fraudulent because they are likely to, and did, deceive customers—including Plaintiff and members of the Class—into believing that the Crisco EVOO product has characteristics and benefits it does not have,” the Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray class action lawsuit alleges.

Robinson seeks to represent a Class of California consumers who have purchased Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil spray. The Crisco class action seeks damages, restitution, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiff is represented by Scott J. Ferrell of Pacific Trial Attorneys.

The Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil No-Stick Spray Class Action Lawsuit is Robinson v. The JM Smucker Company, et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-04654, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.