Class Action Claims Wholesome Pantry ‘Vanilla’ Almond Milk Label ‘Misrepresents’ Characterizing Flavor

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A proposed class action claims Wakefern Food Corporation has misrepresented that the vanilla flavor of its Wholesome Pantry Vanilla almond milk comes from real vanilla beans when the product, in truth, contains an artificial flavor.

According to the 32-page case, Wakefern, the operator of the Shoprite grocery store chain, has misled consumers as to the source of the almond milk’s characterizing flavor through label representations centered on the vanilla plant and the absence of any qualifying statements, such as “naturally flavored,” “other natural flavor” or “artificially flavored,” on the product’s front label. 

Per the suit, consumers relied on the defendant’s representations in deciding to buy the almond milk and were injured by paying a price premium for a product that was worth less than what they paid.

“Even if reasonable consumers were to investigate the ‘Vanilla’ statements on the Product’s front label by scrutinizing the ingredient statement on the back, consumers would still be unaware that the Product contained artificial flavor,” the lawsuit contends.

The case out of Pennsylvania says consumers generally prefer foods flavored with naturally sourced vanilla from the vanilla plant over those containing artificial vanilla flavors. Per the lawsuit, the popularity of vanilla led to the isolation of its main flavor component, vanillin, to boost foods’ vanilla flavor. The suit argues, however, that vanillin on its own, which is described as having a “lackluster” chemical-like taste, cannot provide the vanilla flavor consumers expect given it lacks characterizing notes provided by a host of other flavor components found in real vanilla.

“While vanillin plays a significant role, it constitutes less than one-third of the overall flavor/aroma impact of vanilla,” the complaint reads.

According to the lawsuit, vanillin can be labeled as a natural flavor only when it is derived from a natural source through a natural process. More commonly, however, vanillin is produced artificially from guaiacol (coal tar or petroleum), lignin (tree pulp), and eugenol (clove oil), the case states, and must therefore be labeled as an artificial flavor.

The complaint alleges that although the label of Wakefern’s Wholesome Pantry vanilla almond milk product places “great importance” on the purported source of its vanilla flavor with multiple references to the word “vanilla” and depictions of the vanilla plant, the beverage’s ingredients list “tacitly reveals” that it is not flavored exclusively with real vanilla. According to the suit, the ingredients list’s inclusion of “natural flavor” instead of vanilla extract indicates the product is flavored with “just a trace of natural vanilla” supplemented by added vanillin.

As the case tells it, the Wholesome Pantry almond milk label should state that the product is “artificially flavored” given the added vanillin was derived from a non-vanilla source.

“Because the Product contains artificial flavor that ‘simulates, resembles or reinforces the characterizing flavor,’ the front label is required to state, ‘Artificially Flavored,’” the complaint contests.

According to the suit, the defendant has sold more of the almond milk product, and at higher prices, than it would have absent the allegedly misleading labeling.

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