On February 23, 2018, California federal court judge Anthony Battaglia rejected Kellogg Company’s motion to dismiss a punitive class action suit alleging that the company’s hugely popular Pringles-brand salt-and-vinegar flavor chips are deceptively marketed as naturally flavored when in reality the chips are mostly artificially flavored.
The suit was originally filed on July 5, 2017, by named plaintiffs Barry and Mandy Allred who argue that Kellogg’s intentionally deceives consumers into believing they are purchasing an all-natural premium product based on the label design of Pringles’ salt-and-vinegar flavored chips. The packaging of the chips prominently displays a chalkboard sign with the words “Salt and Vinegar” written on it along with a pile of salt and two bottles of vinegar. The plaintiffs argue that an average consumer looking at the packaging in question would reasonably assume that the chips were naturally flavored. Plaintiffs claim that in reality, Pringles salt-and-vinegar chips contain only a miniscule amount of actual vinegar and are primarily flavored with synthetic forms of sodium diacetate and malic acid.
The class is composed of all consumers who purchased Pringles salt-and-vinegar flavored chips in the state of California from 2011 until 2017.
The case is: Barry Allred et al. v. Kellogg Co. et al., case number 3:17-cv-01354, in U.S. District Court for Southern California.
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