Class Action Claims Florida’s Natural Orange Juice Falsely Advertised as Made from Florida Oranges

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Florida’s Natural falsely advertises that its orange juice is made exclusively from Florida-grown oranges.

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According to the 18-page lawsuit, Florida’s Natural strongly implies that its orange juice is made from 100 percent Florida-grown oranges to capitalize on U.S. consumers’ perception that oranges grown in the state are of a higher quality and their willingness to pay more for that perceived quality.

However, the complaint alleges that Florida’s Natural orange juice is made with juice from Brazil and Mexico, rendering the company’s Florida-made representations false and misleading to consumers.

Per the filing, the packaging of each Florida’s Natural orange juice carton is labeled with the claim “Owned By Florida Farmers” printed next to an American flag. The complaint writes that, according to the Federal Trade Commission, the use of an American flag constitutes an implied “Made in the USA” claim. Even an implied “Made in the USA” claim, the lawsuit relays, means that all or virtually all of the ingredients in a product must be sourced and made in the United States.

The lawsuit claims that this false Florida-sourced advertising is bolstered by the mission statement on the side panel of the packaging, which reiterates that Florida’s Natural is owned by “hundreds of hardworking Florida farmers and their families.”

While the complaint acknowledges that, in the past, the company did produce its orange juice exclusively from Florida oranges, it alleges that Florida’s Natural began to include juice from Brazil and Mexico in May 2022 in an attempt to maintain its market share and meet consumer demand in spite of plant diseases like citrus canker and citrus greening negatively impacting Florida’s citrus groves.

Because Florida’s Natural failed to disclose this change in sourcing and continued to use implied “Made in the USA” claims on its packaging, the company has knowingly deceived consumers who thought the juice came exclusively from Florida-grown oranges, the lawsuit alleges. The source of the juice, the complaint writes, is a significant factor in purchasing decisions, and consumers either would not have bought the product, or would have paid less for it, had they known the juice did not come from 100% Florida-grown oranges.

The Florida’s Natural class action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone who bought at least one Florida’s Natural Orange Juice product in New York within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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