Walmart Great Value Coffee Creamer Contains Less Dairy Than Buyers Expect, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action claims that Walmart’s Great Value-brand chocolate caramel coffee creamer is misrepresented in that the “cream” contains only a trace amount of dairy ingredients.

According to the 15-page case, consumers have paid a premium price for the private-label Walmart product based on the “coffee creamer” and “ultra pasteurized” representations that appear on its front label. The lawsuit says that although buyers expected to receive a product that contains cream, the only dairy ingredient in the creamer product is a “de minimis amount” of sodium caseinate, a milk derivative.

Per the suit, Walmart has sold more of the Great Value chocolate caramel creamer—and at higher prices—than it would have absent the allegedly misleading labeling with regard to the product’s dairy content.

The lawsuit alleges that the “coffee creamer” description on the Great Value product’s front label is “almost identical” to coffee cream, which the FDA defines as a dairy product. 

Moreover, the “ultra pasteurized” statement refers to a sterilization process that is most commonly used for milk-based items, the suit says. According to the case, consumers associate pasteurization with milk products because it is required to be disclosed on a milk product’s front label.

The lawsuit alleges that contrary to consumers’ expectations, two of the Great Value creamer’s three most predominant ingredients are water and sunflower oil, which the case says were substituted for cream in order to reduce costs.

According to the suit, consumers value cream for its taste and nutritional properties and are willing to pay a premium for dairy-based creamers. The case says the Great Value coffee creamer was worth much less than its value as represented by Walmart.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Illinois, North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Nebraska, South Carolina, Kansas and Wyoming who purchased the Great Value chocolate caramel coffee creamer within the statute of limitations period.

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