Viva Labs Facing Class Action Over Coconut Oil Labeling

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A class action out of California claims Viva Labs, Inc. misled consumers by wrongfully marketing and labeling its Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil as a healthy alternative to other cooking oils when it is actually highly unhealthy. The complaint, citing medical studies, claims consuming coconut oil increases a person’s risk of stroke and developing chronic heart disease because almost all of the defendant’s product is composed of saturated fat. Through its labeling, the lawsuit alleges, Viva Labs preyed on consumers’ habits of spending more for healthier foods by advertising “the product as both inherently healthy and a healthy alternative to butter, despite that the coconut oil’s total fat and saturated fat content make it unhealthy, and a less health alternative.”

The lawsuit also attacks the defendant’s claims that its coconut oil product can be good for other uses, such as boosting nutrition and weight management. “These claims taken individually and especially in context of the label as a whole,” the lawsuit says, “are false and misleading because the coconut oil is not healthy, and is not a healthy alternative to butter or other cooking oils, but rather increases consumers’ risk of cardiovascular diseases and other serious illness more than other oils or butter due to its saturated fat content.”