Class Action Claims Arizona Tea, Juice Falsely Advertised As ‘Natural’

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that certain Arizona teas and fruit juice drinks are falsely advertised as all natural despite containing several synthetic ingredients.

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The 22-page lawsuit claims that Arizona Beverages represents its Arizona tea products (including the Blueberry White Tea, Black & White Tea, Iced Tea with Lemon Flavor, Iced Tea with Peach Flavor, Real Brewed Sweet Tea and Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey varieties) and fruit juice cocktail products (including the Fruit Punch, Mucho Mango, Watermelon, Kiwi Strawberry and Pineapple flavors) as “100% Natural” or “All Natural.”

The suit argues, however, that these representations are false and misleading as each product allegedly contains at least one of the following synthetic, non-natural ingredients:

• Citric acid;
• Ascorbic acid;
• Malic acid;
• Phosphoric acid;
• Vitamin E acetate;
• Sodium selenite;
• Ester gum; and/or
• High fructose corn syrup.

The lawsuit claims that each of these ingredients has been artificially produced through industrial processing, fermentation, petrochemical synthesis or chemical modification and is therefore considered synthetic rather than natural.

Per the case, even if a consumer thoroughly examines the ingredients list, they do not have the means to determine whether certain ingredients are natural or synthetic—particularly ingredients such as citric acid, which occurs naturally in some fruits and vegetables—as the ingredients list does not specify the manufacturing process for each ingredient.

Nevertheless, reasonable consumers are “not expected or required to scour the ingredients list on the back of the [p]roducts to confirm or debunk the prominent ‘natural’ claims and representations on the rest of the label,” the lawsuit argues.

Per the filing, Arizona knows that consumers have become increasingly concerned with the effects of synthetic ingredients and are willing to pay more for what they perceive to be higher-quality, “all natural” products. Arizona’s false advertisement of its tea and fruit juice products as “all natural” or “100% natural” takes advantage of this common preference for “natural” food products in order to increase sales and charge higher prices, the case alleges.

The lawsuit claims consumers were deceived into thinking that the Arizona tea and juice products were natural and would not have purchased them, or been willing to pay as much, had they known the drinks contained synthetic ingredients.

The false advertising lawsuit claims Arizona has violated the California Health and Safety Code and federal food labeling regulations, which state that a food product is considered misbranded when the “label is false or misleading in any particular.”

The Arizona Beverages class action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in California who, within the past four years and until a class is notified, purchased any of the above-mentioned Arizona products for personal or household use.

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