Simply Organic Salt is Deceptively Labeled, Class Action Says

A false advertising class action lawsuit has been filed against Frontier Natural Products Cooperative over allegations the company misrepresents the organic nature of its Simply Organic All-Seasons Salt.

Plaintiff Erika Garcia of Orange County, Calif., says she purchased Simply Organic salt products on several occasions.

According to the Simply Organic class action lawsuit, Garcia chose to purchase the salt products based on Frontier’s representations that the product included organic salt.

“Under Federal law, the term organic ‘may not be used in a product name to modify a nonorganic ingredient in the product,’” Garcia alleges in the Simply Organic class action lawsuit. “Indeed, because salt is a mineral and not an agricultural product, ‘salt ingredients cannot be identified as organic.’”

The Simply Organics class action lawsuit includes an image of a container of Simply Organic All-Seasons Salt, which includes the “Simply Organic” logo prominently on the container.

“In this connection, reasonable consumers understand the adjective ‘organic’ modify the noun ‘salt,’” the Simply Organics class action lawsuit says. “Thus, an adjective that precedes two nouns or a compound noun is typically understood to modify both — i.e., ‘organic’ modifies ‘salt’ and any other terms in the Product’s labeling.”

According to the Simply Organic class action lawsuit, consumers who purchased the Frontier’s Simply Organic salt products did so because they believed they contained organic salt and were therefore healthier than regular salt. They also paid a higher price for the products because they were marketed as being organic, Garcia alleges.

Garcia claims that Frontier’s misrepresentations about the Simply Organic All-Seasons Salt product were intended to lead consumers into believing the product contained organic salt. She says she would not have paid as much for the product, or would not have purchased it at all, if not for Frontier’s alleged misrepresentation.

“As a consequence of its illegal marketing and labeling of the Products, Defendant has wrongfully taken millions of dollars from consumers,” the Simply Organic All-Seasons Salt class action lawsuit says.

Garcia filed the Simply Organic class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of California residents who purchased any of Frontier’s salt products that contain “Simply Organic” in the product’s name during the applicable limitations period.

The Simply Organic salt class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, California’s False Advertising Law, and California’s Unfair Competition Law.

Garcia is seeking injunctive relief, restitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief the court deems proper.

Frontier is not the only company to misrepresent its salt products as organic, according to Garcia. She recently filed a similar false advertising class action lawsuit against HimalaSalt-Sustainable Sourcing LLC, claiming its HimalaSalt products are deceptively advertised as being organic.

Garcia is represented by Scott J. Ferrell of Pacific Trial Attorneys, A Professional Corporation.

The Simply Organic Salt False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Erika Garcia v. Frontier Natural Products Cooperative, Case No. 2:18-cv-07457, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.