Trader Joe’s Class Action Says Vitamin E Oil is Mostly Soybean Oil

A California woman says Trader Joe’s is duping customers by cutting its vitamin E oil with cheaper vegetable oils.

According to plaintiff Jessica Cesta, vitamin E oil isn’t even the main ingredient in the product labeled “Vitamin E Oil” by defendant Trader Joe’s Company.

The product consists mostly of what Cesta describes as filler oils, which are lower-quality oils than the genuine vitamin E oil consumers are led to believe they’re getting, Cesta says.

“Defendants intentionally mislead and shortchange consumers by falsely and deceptively misrepresenting the Product as vitamin E oil, when in reality, the Product is a blend of oils, including soybean oil, vitamin E oil, and coconut oil,” the Trader Joe’s class action lawsuit states.

Cesta claims Trader Joe’s labeling misleads consumers into thinking they’re getting a different product than they actually are. The alleged mislabeling puts Trader Joe’s in violation of California consumer laws, she argues.

Vitamin E is popular among consumers for its antioxidant properties, according to the Trader Joe’s class action. It has a reputation for helping protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, which are blamed for much of the damage associated with aging.

As a lipid-soluble antioxidant, vitamin E is a popular additive in many skin care products such as lotions, creams, sunscreens, skin brighteners, and anti-aging moisturizers, Cesta says. It’s also sold by itself in liquid oil form, in products similar to the Trader Joe’s Vitamin E Oil at issue here.

By comparison, soybean oil “is a lower quality oil, top allergen and overall unhealthy,” Cesta says. It is extracted from soybeans using a chemical process that Cesta describes as unsafe. The resulting oil is an unhealthy, lower-quality product compared to vitamin E oil, she claims.

Photos of the product’s packaging included with Cesta’s Trader Joe’s class action lawsuit show the front of the label says “Vitamin E Oil” in letters far larger than all other wording on the label.

Cesta says she relied on this labeling when she purchased a $7 bottle of vitamin E oil from a Trader Joe’s in Westchester, Calif. She was under the impression that the products contained only vitamin E oil. Had she known the product contained soybean and other oils, she says she never would have bought it.

This Trader Joe’s class action lawsuit raises claims for violation of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law.

Cesta wants to represent a plaintiff Class that would cover all persons who purchased Trader Joe’s Vitamin E Oil for personal use and not for resale between Jan. 5, 2014 and the present.

She seeks an injunction barring Trader Joe’s from continuing the alleged mislabeling. She is also asking for awards of damages, restitution and disgorgement, plus an award of attorney’s fees and court costs.

Cesta’s attorneys are Shireen M. Clarkson, Ryan J. Clarkson and Bahar Sodaify of Clarkson Law Firm PC.

The Trader Joe’s Vitamin E Oil Mislabeling Class Action Lawsuit is Cesta v. Trader Joe’s Company, Case No. 2:18-cv-00895, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.