Sargento Cheese Class Action Says ‘Natural’ Label is Misleading

A woman from Washington says Sargento cheese is falsely labeled as “natural” when it actually is made from non-natural ingredients.

Plaintiff Brittany Stanton is challenging the labeling on packs of cheese marketed by defendant Sargento Foods Inc.

In this false advertising class action lawsuit, Stanton shows images of the products’ packaging, featuring representations like “Natural” and “Natural Blends” on their labels.

But Stanton claims there’s plenty about the production of Sargento cheese that isn’t natural.

She believes the milk used to produce Sargento cheese comes from cows that are fed genetically-modified corn or soy. Animal products derived from GMO feed can’t be considered natural, Stanton claims. They also fail to meet USDA standards for foods labeled as “organic.”

Stanton also says these cows are treated with recombinant bovine soatotropin, or rbST. This hormone is used to stimulate increased milk production in cows. While it’s based on a naturally-occurring growth hormone, Stanton says, rbST is now produced through a synthetic process.

No reasonable consumer would consider cheese to be “natural” if it was made using such non-natural means, Stanton argues. She believes Sargento has been deceiving consumers into paying more for Sargento cheese than the product is actually worth.

Were it not for the labeling that describes Sargento cheese as “natural,” Stanton claims, neither she nor any of the proposed Class Members would have bought it. By making these alleged misrepresentations, Sargento is exploiting consumer interest in natural products, according to the class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff cites a survey showing that seven out of 10 consumers reported being particularly interested in natural products. In another survey, consumers ranked natural ingredients second only to taste as a factor in their food purchasing decisions.

Stanton says she purchased Sargento cheese from retail locations in California and her current home state of Washington as far back as July 2013. She says she chose to purchase Sargento cheese in reliance on the labeling that told her the product was “natural.”

Had she known those representations were not true, she claims, she would not have been willing to pay the same amount for the products and therefore would not have purchased them.

Stanton is proposing to represent four distinct plaintiff Classes. The Nationwide Class would represent all persons in the U.S. who purchased the Sargento cheese at issue for their own personal use and during the applicable statutory limitations period.

She also proposes two Classes that would cover residents of Washington and California and a Multi-State Class that would cover residents of 42 listed states and the District of Columbia. She expects Class Members will number in the thousands for each proposed Class.

She seeks an award of damages, including exemplary damages if she can prove Sargento’s conduct was willful, or alternatively restitution and disgorgement of all monies related to the allegedly false advertising at issue. She also seeks an injunction barring Sargento from continuing to promote Sargento cheese as being “natural.”

Stanton is represented by attorneys Michael R. Reese of Reese LLP, and Melissa Wolchansky and Charles Moore of Halunen Law.

The Sargento Cheese False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Brittany Stanton v. Sargento Foods Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-02881, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.