Miracle-Gro Lawsuit Claims Organic Soil, Fertilizer Products Contain Harmful Forever Chemicals

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Miracle-Gro’s organic fertilizer and soil products are not organic as advertised, given that they contain health-hazardous, PFAS “forever chemicals.”

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The 22-page lawsuit states that laboratory testing detected perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in all of Miracle-Gro’s organic soil and fertilizer products, regardless of batch or location where they were sold. The case alleges defendant Scotts uses the term “organic” to induce consumers into believing its products contain only natural, non-synthetic ingredients, and are thus superior to those offered by competitors.

According to the filing, PFAS chemicals are “highly resistant synthetic chemicals” that have seen widespread use in consumer and industrial products in the U.S. since the 1940s. Forever chemicals do not break down in natural environments, as they instead bioaccumulate through the food chain, the case states.

If the human body is exposed to PFAS, including through contaminated food, the chemicals will build up in the body over time and, even at incredibly low concentrations, can lead to severe negative health effects, the complaint relays.

Additionally, due to their negative effects on human health and the environment, the two most common types of PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), have been classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as dangerous substances, the filing reports.

Because PFAS are synthetic chemicals and therefore inorganic by definition, their presence in the products at issue renders Miracle-Gro’s “organic” claim false, given that an organic product should not contain any inorganic components, the lawsuit alleges. In support of this stance, the suit cites the California Food & Agriculture Code, which states that a “natural organic fertilizer” can contain only “materials derived from either plant or animal products,” and “shall not be mixed with synthetic materials.”

Further, per the complaint, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines “organic matter” as the “remains, residues or waste products of any organism,” and the agency defines “organic fraud” as the “deceptive representation, sale or labeling of nonorganic agricultural products or ingredients as 100 percent organic, organic or made with organic [ingredients]."

The filing also notes, importantly, that there are no PFAS identified as “allowed” on the USDA’s National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances for organic production, which tracks with the list’s general policy of allowing nonsynthetic substances and prohibiting the use of synthetic substances in organic products.

While the USDA does not specifically regulate non-food products such as soil and fertilizer, the lawsuit argues that the average consumer’s understanding of an “organic” product label generally adheres to the USDA’s definitions of organic matter and organic fraud, as well as the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.

The complaint contends that PFAS do not fall under any definition or understanding of “organic,” and that no reasonable customer would expect them to be present in organic soil or fertilizer. The filing claims that customers seeking organic soil and fertilizer have been deceived by Miracle-Gro’s false advertising into buying an inorganic product that contains known harmful and health-hazardous chemicals.

The Miracle-Gro class action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone who purchased, in California, any of the following Miracle-Gro organic soil or fertilizer products for personal use within the applicable statute of limitations period:

• Miracle-Gro Organic Raised Bed & Gardening Soil, Outdoor Potting Mix, Indoor Potting Mix, Garden Soil, Potting Mix and Raised Bed Soil;
• Miracle-Gro Performance Organics All Purpose Container Mix, In-Ground Soil and Raised Bed Mix; and
• Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix, Garden Soil and Raised Bed & In Ground Soil with Compost.

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