Cargill's Truvia Stevia Sweeteners May Not Be So Sweet, After All

Denise Howerton, a Hawaii resident who purchased Cargill’s Truvia stevia sweetener, has filed a putative class action against the company, accusing it of false marketing. While Cargill advertises Truvia as a natural sweetener, the lawsuit alleges that there’s very little ‘natural’ about it, with chemically processed and synthetic ingredients making up the bulk of the product.

The lawsuit alleges that Cargill claims this is a natural ingredient derived through natural processes, rather than synthetic.

Truvia is advertised as a natural sweetener derived from the stevia plant, with the extract Rebaudioside A (Reb A) identified as the ingredient following a join Cargill-Coca-Cola Co. project to develop a natural sweetener that was sweeter than sugar but with fewer calories. Following the development, Truvia was marketed as “nature’s calorie-free sweetener” alongside images of stevia plants and leaves, while the process of obtaining stevia leaf extract was described as “similar to making tea”.

Howerton is now challenging these claims.

According to the suit, Reb A allegedly makes up only one percent of the product and is, in fact, chemically processed and purified, rather than naturally derived from a crude preparation of leaf extract. The main ingredient in Truvia is also identified as erythritol, a synthetic substance manufactured by Cargill. The lawsuit alleges that Cargill claims this is a natural ingredient derived through natural processes, rather than synthetic.

Because of these potentially misleading claims and the fact that Truvia costs 300 percent more per packet than Sweet ‘N Low, and 67 percent more per packet than Splenda, the lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide class of those who purchased Truvia at a premium believing it to be a natural sweetener made mainly from stevia plant. Howerton alleges unjust enrichment, breech of express and implied warranties, and violation of various state consumer fraud laws, along with Hawaii’s deceptive trade practices statue.

The suit is seeking damages and restitution, for Cargill to disgorge all revenues and profits, and to take on a corrective advertising campaign to counter the perceived misrepresentation in the current marketing materials.

An increasing number of cases across the U.S. have highlighted the use of “natural” to increase sales in cases where the company may not necessarily be acting in good faith.