Two Bay Staters are accusing potato chip giant Utz Quality Foods of mislabeling its products as "all natural," alleging in a complaint that some of them are made from genetically modified ingredients.
Matt DiFrancesco and Angela Mizzoni filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Hanover, Pa.-based company earlier this month. The suit claims they and others have suffered financial losses because Utz's "'All Natural' representations are deceptive, false, misleading, and unfair to consumers," according to the complaint.
"It's not a secret that consumers want things that are natural — that are healthier — and that's why these companies typically put this type of advertising on their label," said Tina Wolfson, the lead attorney in the case. "That's how they are able to command a higher price."
The plaintiffs are seeking at least $5 million, according to the complaint. They have also asked Utz to stop marketing its products as all natural and "conduct a corrective advertising campaign."
Utz and its attorneys did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
This is not the first false-labeling case that Wolfson has brought. In 2013 she reached a $9 million settlement in a class action against PepsiCo Inc.'s Naked Juice Co. The company was accused of misleading consumers about the "all natural" content of its products.
Utz is also accused of incorrectly labeling more than 40 of its products as "all natural."
"The market for natural products is large and ever growing and consumers are willing to pay a premium for products they believe to be natural, healthy and/or organic," the complaint alleges. "Gleaning more than $89.4 billion dollars in revenue in 2013 alone, the industry grew ten-and-a-half percent from 2012, revealing that consumers' desire for natural products is huge and continues to grow."
The suit claims that Utz's products contain a variety of genetically modified ingredients, including modified corn starch, maltodextrin and others. The complaint says Utz breached an express warranty, was unjustly enriched by its false advertising and violated Massachusetts' unfair and deceptive practices law.
"The problem is that the FDA has not given very specific definitions on what natural means and what standards companies need to meet," Wolfson said. "Unfortunately, products that under any definition would not be called natural are being called all natural."
UTZ has not yet filed a response to the complaint and has until Feb. 23 to do so.
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