ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - Walmart faces a class action lawsuit for including ingredients other than juice and peaches in its containers of the fruit.
Walmart Inc. is facing a class-action lawsuit filed by Patricia Matthews on behalf of all others similarly situated. The case, filed Feb. 7 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that Walmart has been misleading consumers by marketing foods as containing "real ingredients" without additives.
The complaint comes amidst a growing trend of consumers seeking healthier food choices and scrutinizing product labels more closely. Consumers are increasingly looking for foods labeled as "100%," understanding this term to mean "completely" or "entirely," without anything else added, the suit claims.
The plaintiff argues that there is a growing public aversion to additives - non-food ingredients created in laboratories to fulfill various functions such as facilitating processing, improving appearance, creating or enhancing taste and extending shelf-life. A recent consumer survey by the International Food Information Council found that almost 30%vof the public consider additives in food a top concern, the suit says.
The packaging on Walmart's diced peaches says they are stored in 100% juice, but the complaint says there are ingredients like water and ascorbic acid.
Daniel Harvath of Harvath Law Group represents the plaintiff.