Celestial Seasonings Class Action Says Tea Lacks Vanilla

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Celestial Seasonings Inc. by a consumer claiming that Sleepytime Vanilla tea doesn’t contain real vanilla.

Adrianna Spitzer says the front label representations on the box include terms such as “Herbal Tea,” “Caffeine Free,” “Sleepytime,” “Vanilla” and also contains a picture of the vanilla flower.

The label is misleading because the tea contains non-vanilla flavors that imitate vanilla, but are not derived from the vanilla bean, according to Spitzer.

The plaintiff notes that the demand for vanilla could not be met by using natural sources of vanilla, which led manufacturers to create “clever, deceptive and dangerous methods” to imitate vanilla’s flavor.

Celestial Seasonings is engaging in “food fraud,” according to Spitzer, and gives consumers less than what they paid for.

The Celestial Seasonings class action lawsuit says vanilla is at high risk for “food fraud” due to numerous factors which include natural disasters, unstable production and the wide variability of quality and value of vanilla flavorings.

The plaintiff states that the most common challenger to the genuineness of real vanilla is the synthetic versions of its main flavor component, vanillin.

“Today, only 1-2% of vanillin in commercial use is vanillin obtained from the vanilla plant, which means that almost all vanillin has no connection to the vanilla bean,” claims Spitzer.

Vanilla is the only flavor with its own standard of identity and its labeling is controlled by the standards for vanilla ingredients, not by general flavor regulations, according to the Celestial Seasonings class action lawsuit.

Spitzer also argues that if a product is represented as being characterized by vanilla, but contains non-vanilla vanillin, the packaging must declare vanillin as an artificial flavor. Doing so will prevent consumers from being misled by products that taste similar to real vanilla and are sold at the price of real vanilla, the plaintiff alleges.

The plaintiff claims that when less vanilla is available, companies have to purchase “vanilla-like” flavorings, which are made with advanced technology and synthetic biology.

“The Product’s designation of its characterizing flavor as “Vanilla” without any qualifying terms – – gives consumers the impression that its entire flavor (taste sensation and ingredient imparting same) is contributed by the characterizing food ingredient of vanilla beans,” states the Celestial Seasonings class action lawsuit.

As an example, Spitzer points out that foods labeled “strawberry shortcake,” “vanilla herbal tea” or “apple pie,” will be expected by consumers to contain amounts of the characterizing ingredients. 

The plaintiff claims that consumers are misled because identifying “Natural French Vanilla Flavor” on the ingredient list on the Celestial Seasonings package does not not disclose the “Other Natural Flavors” which are a part of the ingredient.

In addition, the defendant allegedly sold more products at higher prices per unit than it would have if they did not mislead consumers, which results in higher profits at the expense of the consumer.

Had the plaintiff known the truth about the ingredients in the tea, she would not have purchased the product, states the Celestial Seasonings class action lawsuit.

Did you purchase Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Vanilla tea thinking that it contained real vanilla? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Vanilla Tea Class Action Lawsuit is Adrianna Spitzer v. Celestial Seasonings Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-02000, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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