Class Action Alleges Certain Wahlburgers Pickles Falsely Advertised as All-Natural, ‘GMO-Free,’ Preservative-Free

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A proposed class action claims Wahlburgers Fresh Dill Spears, Fresh Dill Chips and Fresh Dill Chips Hot are falsely advertised as “fresh,” all-natural, “GMO-free” and preservative-free.

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The 27-page lawsuit says that despite the labels of the so-called “fresh” pickles, which prominently claim that the products are “All Natural” and contain “No Preservatives,” the pickles, in fact, contain significant amounts of the chemical preservative sodium benzoate.

The suit names as defendants Wahlburgers I, LLC; manufacturer Patriot Pickle Inc. and ARKK Food Company, the exclusive licensee and distributor of Wahlburgers products.

According to the case, the companies sell the pickles at issue in the refrigerated section of grocery stores, often near fresh pickles, which reinforces consumer belief that the products are preservative-free. The defendants do not disclose the presence of artificial additive sodium benzoate in the ingredient lists found on any of the items’ labels, the complaint adds.

In addition, the companies misrepresent that the pickles are produced without using any genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the filing alleges. As the lawsuit tells it, the claim is “scientifically indefensible,” as the risk of contamination to such products is too high to reliably declare that they are “GMO-free.”

Nonetheless, a “GMO-free” claim is featured on the pickles’ labels, next to a symbol that is nearly identical to the butterfly mark used by the Non-GMO Project, a nonprofit organization that permits companies to place its icon on their products only if they pass a stringent verification process, the suit relays.

“[The defendants’] use of a mark that is intentionally similar to the Non-GMO Project’s Butterfly mark, next to the text ‘GMO-Free,’ misleads customers into believing that the Products are verified by the Non-GMO Project,” the case contends.

Per the complaint, the companies purport to have discovered in January 2023 that the pickles were “exposed to sodium benzoate” through certain manufacturing or transportation processes and claim to have since “taken remedial measures.” However, the filing alleges that products manufactured in March 2023 still contain the preservative, contrary to the continued representations that they are all-natural and preservative-free.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who purchased Wahlburgers Fresh Dill Spears, Fresh Dill Chips or Fresh Dill Chips Hot in New York at any time during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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