Class Action: Kroger, Albertsons ‘Breached Consumer Trust’ by Advertising Imported Beef, Cattle as ‘Product[s] of the U.S.’

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges the Kroger Company and Albertsons have since 2015 falsely advertised beef imported into the United States post-slaughter as a “Product of the U.S.,” or with some similarly inaccurate label, to give consumers the impression that the product they’re buying is from an animal “born, raised and slaughtered” on American soil. 

The complaint further alleges the major grocers have engaged in similar conduct with regard to beef from imported cattle, falsely advertising via mail or newspapers goods derived from animals brought into the country for immediate slaughter or finishing as “Product[s] of the U.S.” 

“Since 2015, Defendants have breached consumer trust by advertising that some of their beef products are a ‘Product of the U.S.’ when in fact, the products are not derived from domestically originating cattle,” the case, filed in New Mexico state court on September 3, alleges, charging that consumers such as the plaintiff were misled into believing their beef purchases were made in support of the U.S. beef industry.

Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is mandatory under U.S. food labeling laws enforced by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the lawsuit explains. According to the complaint, the USDA requires retailers to notify customers with information concerning the source of certain foods, called “covered commodities.” 

The collection of covered commodities subject to federal food labeling standards includes muscle cuts of beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat and ground pork; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities, macadamia nuts, pecans, ginseng and peanuts, the lawsuit says.

The USDA’s COOL regulations, which focus on food labeling, not food safety, mandate that beef imported into the U.S. post-slaughter or products derived from animals imported for immediate slaughter be labeled with their country of origin, and not be held out exclusively as a “Product of the U.S.,” according to the case. The suit notes, however, that the USDA, under the direction of Congress, issued in 2016 a final rule that amended the COOL regulations by removing requirements for muscle cuts of beef and pork and ground beef and pork.

“The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 repealed these COOL requirements and immediately after the legislation was passed, USDA stopped enforcing the COOL requirements for beef and pork effective Dec. 18, 2015,” the complaint reads. “USDA is thus considered to be silent as to COOL regulations regarding beef and pork post 2015.”

The suit emphasizes that something labeled as a “Product of the U.S.” generates confidence in a consumer that what they’re about to buy is from an American. With beef, a “Product of the U.S.” label indicates to a consumer that they’re buying a product from an American rancher that “fulfills their social conscious and environmentally responsible concerns,” including that the beef they’ve bought isn’t contributing to, say, deforestation in Brazil, the case relays. 

According to the lawsuit, the Kroger Company fully recognizes the market of socially and environmentally conscious consumers willing to pay more for American products when presented with the choice of buying either domestic or foreign imports of beef.

In truth, the purportedly American beef products sold by the defendants are made from a mixture of domestically born and raised and imported cattle, the suit alleges. This practice, the case avers, amounts to a significant deception of consumers, who are presented not with the full picture of a beef product’s origins but rather false labels; red, white and blue advertisement graphics; and other misleading representations. From the complaint:

“Unbeknownst to consumers who believe they are supporting exclusively American ranchers and farms raised according to that ethos they understand to be associated to the beef industry in this Country, Defendants are misleading them to use their patronage to support unknown, unqualified beef production practices, such as feedlot shipping across the oceans in an environmentally damaging fashion or such as the environmental devastation of deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest for grazing witnessed in Brazil.” 

The lawsuit, which was removed to New Mexico federal court on October 8, looks to cover all consumers in the United States who bought Kroger and/or Albertsons beef products during the applicable statute of limitations period for personal use. 

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