Class Action Alleges American Tuna Products Not ‘Caught and Canned in America’ as Advertised

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A proposed class action alleges American Tuna, Inc. has attempted to mislead consumers into believing the tuna in its products is caught and canned in U.S. waters.

The 47-page lawsuit alleges that much of the tuna found in American Tuna’s products is, in truth, sourced from international and foreign waters and canned in Thailand, Costa Rica, Vietnam and other countries. The suit contends that American Tuna’s product label representations and marketing materials emphasizing that its tuna is “Caught and Canned in the U.S.A.,” “Caught and Canned in America,” “American Made” and “100% American Made” are thus false and misleading. 

Filed on November 4 in New York, the suit claims the defendant’s positioning of its products as American-made has allowed the company to charge “significantly more” for its tuna than competitors who market their products more accurately. Had consumers known of the true source of American Tuna’s products, they would not have purchased the tuna or would have paid significantly less for it, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit relays that many consumers prefer tuna sourced from and canned in the U.S. due to the perception that fish caught in American waters and processed in American factories is safer and of a higher quality than products that come from less regulated foreign waters and factories. According to the complaint, American Tuna has sought to capitalize on this desire by centering its branding and marketing on its tuna’s purportedly American sourcing.

The lawsuit attests that aside from the representations on American Tuna product labels—not to mention the company’s name and logo—the defendant’s website, social media accounts and online presence are all designed to “leave[] the overwhelming impression” that its products are locally sourced and processed. In fact, the suit claims American Tuna’s website stated until May 2021 that the company’s tuna is sourced from fisheries in the “American Pacific Northwest.” Per the case, the defendant changed this statement earlier this year to note instead that the fish actually comes from “the North Pacific Ocean.”

Current language on American Tuna’s website continues to promote the idea that its products are locally sourced, according to the filing. The lawsuit goes on to pick apart a paragraph on the defendant’s website entitled “Local Sourcing,” stressing that none of the representations in the paragraph—including that American Tuna’s albacore comes from a Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery and is caught by U.S.-flagged vessels—necessarily mean the tuna is locally sourced.

“Local means from the immediate area,” the complaint avers. “No reasonable consumer would consider tuna caught in international waters to be locally sourced.”

According to the suit, the defendant’s American-made representations are perpetuated in the company’s social media accounts and through online retailers such as Amazon. Myriad Amazon customer reviews and the product listing’s Q&A section evidence that consumers have largely bought into American Tuna’s marketing and believe the company’s tuna is caught and canned in America, the case says.

The lawsuit alleges, however, that “a huge volume” of American Tuna’s albacore are caught in international waters and the territorial waters of other countries, while “much of this tuna” is canned in Thailand, Costa Rica, Vietnam and elsewhere. Per the case, the defendant’s chief operating officer admitted in an interview at the company’s San Diego warehouse that “the guys . . . go to international waters,” and that American Tuna shipments must clear customs.

The lawsuit claims American Tuna’s “careful design” and “opportunistic labeling and marketing” have allowed the company to charge a premium price—between 32 and 38 percent more than similar products from other manufacturers—for its tuna.

According to the suit, “[t]he law is designed to protect consumers from this type of false representation and predatory conduct.”

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