Sensible Portions Veggie Puffs and Straws Mislabeled as Free From Artificial Preservatives, Class Action Suit Claims

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The Hain Celestial Group has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges its Sensible Portions Veggie Puffs and Veggie Straws are misleadingly labeled as containing no artificial flavors or preservatives.

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The 27-page lawsuit claims that although Hain Celestial Group’s Sensible Portions Veggie Puffs and Veggie Straws bear a prominent and uniform label claim that the snacks contain “No Artificial Flavors or Preservatives,” they in fact contain citric acid, a well-known preservative with antimicrobial and antioxidant qualities commonly used to inhibit the growth of bacteria and mold in food products.

The filing conveys that even when citric acid is used in food for non-preservative reasons, the “subjective intent of citric acid use is irrelevant” as it is still considered a preservative, as recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Department of Agriculture, the International Food Information Council, and other regulatory groups.

Per the case, the presence of citric acid in the Veggie Puffs and Straws is “buried” in the fine print of the ingredients list. Given that consumers generally spend less than 20 seconds to make a purchase decision, it is unlikely that a reasonable consumer would detect the inclusion of the preservative, the complaint contends.

Hain Celestial Group “undoubtedly” performed product testing before bringing the snacks to market, the suit relays, and the case says any investigation into the ingredients would have revealed that the snacks contain preservatives, in direct contradiction with the claims on product labels.

“Despite this, [Hain Celestial] purposely made the [f]alse [c]laims in order to induce the false belief in consumers that they were purchasing a [p]roduct that had ‘No Artificial Flavors or Preservatives,’” the lawsuit stresses.

The lawsuit states that the FDA defines a preservative as any chemical that, when added to food, “tends to prevent or retard deterioration,” excluding common salt, sugars, vinegars, spices or oils, as well as substances added to food by “direct exposure,” such as wood smoke, or chemicals applied for insecticidal or herbicidal properties.

The Hain Celestial Group class action lawsuit seeks to cover all individuals who purchased Sensible Portions Veggie Straws and/or Veggie Puffs in Missouri.

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