Almond Milk Class Action Lawsuit Claims False Advertising

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The makers of “Blue Diamond Almond Breeze” and “Silk PureAlmond” have been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit for allegedly misrepresenting their almond milk products by labeling them in a way that would lead consumers to believe they are made primarily of almonds when in fact, the milk only contains 2 percent of almonds.

Lead plaintiffs Tracy Albert of California and Dimitrios Malaxianis of New York filed the almond milk class action lawsuit against Blue Diamond Growers and WhiteWave for falsely advertising their almond milk products in order to generate sales. The almond milk industry reportedly generates more than $700 million in sales and Blue Diamond and WhiteWave generate most of that.

According to the almond milk class action lawsuit, Blue Diamond, which is the world’s leader of tree nut processing and marketing, deceptively labeled their Almond Breeze milk as “made from real California almonds.” The plaintiffs believe a reasonable consumer would conclude that the product was in fact entirely or almost entirely made of almonds.

The proposed almond milk class action lawsuit also found that Silk’s PureAlmond manufactured by WhiteWave claims that it is “100% mouth-watering almond deliciousness.” Again, the plaintiffs believe this type of advertising is misleading to customers.

Despite the labeling, the plaintiffs allege they have discovered that the “milk” products are actually primarily made up of thickening agents including locust bean gum, gellan gum, xanthan gum, and carrageenan.

The discovery was made after the plaintiffs looked at the two products which are also sold in the United Kingdom. Silk PureAlmond milk is under the name Alpro in the U.K. while Almond Breeze uses the same name. In both products, the packaging disclosed that the “milk” product contains just 2 percent almonds. The plaintiffs are curious why almond milk manufacturers would disclose that information to consumers in the United Kingdom but deceptively misrepresent the product in the United States.

Based on their findings, the plaintiffs also believe Silk maker WhiteWave uses similar fraudulent practices in selling other plant-based milk products like their soy, coconut and cashew milk.

Albert and Malaxianis claim they regularly purchased Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze and Silk’s PureAlmond milk because they believed it to be primarily made from almonds. They think that any reasonable consumer would be misled by the false advertising practices of Blue Diamond and WhiteWave.

If approved, the almond milk class action lawsuit would seek more than $5 million in damages for potential Class Members. The class action lawsuit would be open to any consumer in the United States who purchased either a Blue Diamond Almond Breeze product or a Silk Almond Milk product anytime between May 27, 2009 to the present day.

Tracy Albert and Dimitrios Malaxianis are represented by James C. Kelly of The Law Office of James C. Kelly, New York, New York.

The WhiteWave. Blue Diamond Almond Milk Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-04087-VM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: On June 8, 2016, Blue Diamond Growers asked a judge to stay a false advertising class action lawsuit over allegations its almond milk only contains two percent almonds because it has recently agreed to a nationwide settlement over labeling claims.