Courtney Jorstad  |  February 10, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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Suja juicesA California woman filed a class action lawsuit against Suja Life LLC on Wednesday, alleging that the company makes false claims that its Suja Classic and Suja Fresh Start juice products are “raw,” when they undergo a process that leaves the juice in a similar nutritional state as traditional pasteurization.

San Francisco plaintiff Rebecca Heikkila alleges in the Suja juice class action lawsuit that she bought Suja’s “Twelve Essentials” and “Fiji” juice products from Suja Life in August 2013 for $8.99 a piece. Before buying the juices, Heikkila says she carefully read the information about the products on Suja’s website.

It stated on the juice bottles that “‘Suja juice drinks are raw, cold pressed, never heated.'” She took the statements on the bottles and on the website to mean that the products were indeed raw.

“She relied on this representation and warranty in deciding to purchase the juice products at a premium price,” the Suja juice class action lawsuit says. “She would not have purchased the juice products had she known that the juice products were, in fact, not ‘raw.'”

According to the class action lawsuit, “‘Raw’ foods are usually organic foods that are unprocessed, uncooked, and not decontaminated to maintain the presence of enzymes, probiotics, and other qualities in their original state.”

These nutrients are typically destroyed in the pasteurization process that most juices sold in stores typically go through.

“‘Raw’ foods and juices cannot be pasteurized,” the class action explains. “This is because pasteurization preserves and sterilizes by substantially reducing the live, active enzymes that are the essence of raw foods.”

Because raw foods are not pasteurized or infused with preservatives, they typically cannot last on the shelf longer than five days.

“As a result of their short shelf life and production costs, to be commercially viable, these juices sell for a substantial premium compared to the average 100% pasteurized juices.”

Suja Life claims that the juices go through a process called High Pressure Processing (HPP).

“The effects of HPP on the juice products are identical to those of traditional pasteurization — inactivated enzymes, inactivated probiotics, altered physical properties of the product and denatured proteins, among other undesirable qualities,” the Suja raw juice lawsuit claims.

“HPP is an alternative to traditional, thermal pasteurization of food that decontaminates and preserves food products through the use of high pressure,” the class action lawsuit explains. “HPP has a detrimental effect on food and juice products . . . . It is undeniable that HPP-treated foods are not identical pre- and post-treatment. Consequently, foods that are HPP-treated cannot be considered raw.”

Heikkila is bringing the Suja class action lawsuit on behalf of anyone in the United States that has purchased Suja juice products. She is also wanting to represent a class of California residents.

The California woman is charging the juice company with violating the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, unjust enrichment, violating California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and violating California’s False Advertising law.

She is asking for compensatory and punitive damages.

The plaintiff is represented by Scott A. Bursor, L. Timothy Fisher, Sarah N. Westcot and Annick M. Persinger of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Suja Juice Class Action Lawsuit is Heikkila v. Suja Life LLC, Case No. 3:14-cv-00556, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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6 thoughts onSuja ‘Raw’ Juice Class Action Lawsuit Alleges False Advertising

  1. Dorothy Amescua-Wheat says:

    I have used suja drinks many times thinking I was consuming a juice with all the enzymatic and nutritious quailties of raw juice.

  2. Catherine says:

    Ok, well, I wondered why the nutrition content was so low. I expected the green drink to have a much higher vitamin percentage than what’s listed on the label.

    1. Catherine says:

      So how do you join the lawsuit, then?

  3. Tami says:

    It’s 2022 now and the labels still say cold-pressed. With a funky stamp for high pressure certified ~ next to the non-gmo and organic stamps. I still buy it occasionally.

  4. Jen P says:

    I’ve been buying the celery juice and greens for $9.99 at Walmart for the last two years now and I did not know it was not raw either. I have no Raw juice Bars where I live and I thought this was the best alternative I really thought it was raw and I’m so sad. Everytime I think there’s a product out there that is what it seems to say it is on its packaging, it ends up being misrepresented for marketing purposes and mislabeled. If it’s not too late I’d like to join the lawsuit. I usually pay with cash but I’ve been using my EBT card since I got it the past couple months.

  5. Michael Huskey says:

    I also thought it was raw and have bought many bottles of it. I am disappointed and would like to join the lawsuit.

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