SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) – Walmart’s honey mustard misleads customers, a new class action lawsuit says.
Plaintiff Missy Baker and attorney Spencer Sheehan filed suit Aug. 7 in Illinois federal court, complaining that sugar is the primary sweetener in the sauce, not honey. A picture of a honey dipper and the phrase “Made with real honey” appear on the bottle, tricking consumers who seek honey as a healthier alternative to sugar, the suit says.
Sugar is listed fourth on the ingredients list while honey is sixth.
“The amount of sugar can be estimated at almost 16 times more than the amount of honey,” the suit says. “Honey is not a significant sweetening ingredient in the product based on these calculations.”
Sheehan says other companies have shown it is possible to avoid sugar in honey mustard, as one made by True Made Foods has honey third on its ingredients list while sugar does not appear.
“Defendant sold more of the product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers,” the suit says. “Plaintiff paid more for the product based on the representations, and had she known the truth, she would not have bought it or would have paid less.”