Trader Joe's Being Sued for Mislabeled Foods

Trader Joe’s, the neighborhood grocery chain with a location at Patriot Place, is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of intentionally mislabeling several of its branded packaged foods to make them seem healthier than they are, according to The Huffington Post.

California residents Amy Gitson, Christine Vodicka and Deborah Ross are each plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Trader Joe’s. The plaintiffs, according to The Huffington Post, are suing Trader Joe’s because the “evaporated cane juice” and “organic evaporated cane juice” listed as ingredients in Trader Joe’s brand yogurt and soymilk turned out to be normal sugar.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the term ‘evaporated cane juice’ as a synonym for sugar on packaged foods, but the use of the term has become increasingly common over the past few years,” The Huffington Post reports. “The suit also accuses Trader Joe's of falsely claiming that several of its products contain no artificial flavors, ingredients or preservatives. The complaint cites the brand's French Village Strawberry Nonfat Yogurt, which is tinted with beet juice, and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Salted Caramel Truffles, which contain one of a class of chemical preservatives called tocopherols, as examples of mislabeled products.”

Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuici told The Huffington Post Friday the company cannot comment on pending litigation.

Gitson, Vodicka and Ross are asking the court to grant them, and similarly begrieved parties across the country, monetary compensation for what they characterize as fraud on the part of Trader Joe's. They also want Trader Joe's to change its labels, according to The Huffington Post.

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