Arizona Beverages sued over alleged false ‘100% Natural’ tea labels

AriZona tea class action overview:

• Who: Two consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Arizona Beverages USA LLC.
• Why: Plaintiffs claim AriZona markets its teas and fruit juice cocktails as “natural” despite the drinks containing synthetic ingredients.
• Where: The AriZona tea class action lawsuit was originally filed in California state court and has since been removed to federal court.

An AriZona tea class action lawsuit accuses the company of marketing its teas and fruit juice cocktails as natural, even though the drinks contain synthetic ingredients.

Plaintiffs David Ford and Ivette Archila claim AriZona labels its teas “100% Natural” and its fruit juice cocktails “All Natural,” representations they say are false because the products contain synthetic additives, such as citric acid, ascorbic acid, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and ester gum.

“This is a false advertising case about beverages labeled and sold as ‘natural’ despite containing synthetic ingredients,” the complaint says.

Ford and Archila argue AriZona commands a price premium by marketing the drinks as natural, since consumers value them as safer and healthier. They contend they paid more than they otherwise would have and would not have bought the products had they known the claims were misleading.

The plaintiffs also argue the labeling is deceptive because shoppers cannot tell from the ingredient list alone whether an additive is synthetic, and say a reasonable consumer should not have to scour the back label to check the front-label natural claims.

Ford and Archila initially filed their lawsuit in Lake County Superior Court in California; it has since been removed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. 

The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all people in California who bought any of the products for personal or household use during the four years before the complaint was filed.

AriZona tea class action alleges citric acid, HFCS highly manufactured

The class action lawsuit alleges each of the challenged ingredients is manufactured, rather than found in nature. 

The complaint says citric acid can occur naturally in citrus fruit, but argues the version added to the drinks is produced industrially from a type of mold and amounts to a major industrial chemical made at more than 2 million tons a year.

The complaint further alleges high fructose corn syrup is a heavily processed sweetener made from corn using chemicals, such as caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, along with enzymes that convert corn starch into fructose. 

It notes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has objected to calling the sweetener natural. Plaintiffs argue ascorbic acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid and ester gum are likewise created through chemical processing rather than drawn from plants.

The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and seek injunctive relief, restitution and compensatory and punitive damages.

Currently, Gatorade is also facing a class action lawsuit alleging the sports drink makes false claims about hydrating better than water and containing no artificial ingredients.

Have you ever purchased AriZona teas or fruit juice cocktails labeled as natural? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jack Fitzgerald, Melanie R. Monroe, Trevor Flynn, Kaden Byron, Allison Ferraro and Daniel Sachs of Fitzgerald Monroe Flynn P.C.

The AriZona tea class action lawsuit is Ford, et al. v. Arizona Beverages USA LLC, Case No. Case 1:26-cv-05657, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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