Judge Dismisses Nestle ‘All Natural’ Class Action Lawsuit

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A California federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit that charged Nestle USA Inc. with misleading customers by labeling several of its pasta products as “all natural” when they allegedly include artificial ingredients.

On July 18, Maritza Pelayo filed a class action lawsuit against Nestle saying that several of the company’s Buitoni refrigerated pasta products were made with artificial and synthetic ingredients, while the label stated that they were “all natural.” She filed her first amended complaint on Aug. 19. Buitoni filed the motion for dismissal on Sept. 23.

In her class action lawsuit, Pelayo claims that she purchased the Buitoni Three Cheese Tortellini and the Buitoni Spinach Cheese Tortellini because of the “all natural” label sometime in late June or early July, and later discovered that they include artificial or synthetic ingredients such as xanthan gum, a synthetic soy lecithin, sodium citrate, maltodextrin and sodium phosphate.

Pelayo charged Nestle with violating the California Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CRLA), prohibiting fraudulent and deceptive business practices respectively.

However, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter wrote in his ruling that Pelayo never offered “an objective or plausible definition of the phrase ‘All Natural,’ and the use of the term ‘All Natural’ is not deceptive in context.”

“With respect to a definition of the phrase ‘All Natural,’ Plaintiff offers several conflicting definitions of the term in her First Amended Complaint,” Judge Walter wrote in his decision to dismiss the class action lawsuit. “For example, Plaintiff offers the Webster’s Dictionary definition of ‘natural,’ meaning ‘produced or existing in nature’ and ‘not artificial or manufactured.'”

But Judge Walter explained that even Pelayo admits that these definitions do not entirely apply to Buitoni Pasta products since they are not “springing fully-formed from Ravioli trees and Tortellini bushes.”

Judge Walter also said that Pelayo failed to show that any of the ingredients used in the Buitoni pasta products are indeed artificial, according to the definition provided by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

“In addition, the FDA definition of ‘artificial’ applies only to flavor additives, and the Plaintiff also fails to allege that any of the Challenged Ingredients in Buitoni Pastas are present in the product specifically as an added ‘flavor,'” the California federal judge wrote in his decision to dismiss the class action lawsuit.

It is for these reasons that Judge Walter dismissed the class action lawsuit against Nestle. He did not give the plaintiff another chance to amend her complaint.

The plaintiff is represented by Elaine A. Ryan, Patricia N. Syverson, Lindsey M. Gomez-Gray and Manfred P. Muecke of Bonnet Fairbourn Friedman & Balint PC and by Stewart M. Weltman.

The Nestle “All Natural” Deceptive Labeling Lawsuit is Pelayo v. Nestle USA Inc., et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-05213, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.