Class Action Claims Certain Wegmans Canned Fruits Falsely Advertised as ‘100% Juice,’ Preservative-Free

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A proposed class action claims that certain Wegmans-brand canned fruits are falsely advertised as made in an additive-free juice blend and containing no artificial preservatives.

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The 17-page case alleges that Wegmans, in an attempt to appeal to health-oriented consumers seeking “clean” food items, has deceptively represented that its canned peach slices, peach halves, apricot halves and fruit cocktail are made “In 100% Juice” with “No [Artificial] Preservatives.” The lawsuit contends that, contrary to these label statements, the products contain ascorbic acid, a synthetic ingredient used in foods as a preservative.

Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C, is a popular food additive categorized as a chemical preservative by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the suit explains. According to the complaint, the ingredient helps preserve color and freshness by preventing microbial growth and oxidation in food products.

Wegmans goes so far as to “openly declare” on the products’ ingredient list that they contain ascorbic acid “to protect color,” the case relays.

Although ascorbic acid could theoretically be derived from natural sources like citrus fruits, the United States Department of Agriculture has found that all commercial ascorbic acid is synthetically derived through extensive chemical processing, the filing says. 

Despite marketing the canned fruits as containing no “artificial colors, flavors or preservatives,” the defendant “creates a special exception” when it comes to ascorbic acid, stating that it allows this and several other ingredients “that are found in nature even if produced from something else,” the lawsuit says.

The complaint claims that the presence of ascorbic acid in the canned fruits—a non-juice food additive—makes Wegmans’ “100% Juice” representations “literally false.” Moreover, the defendant has failed to comply with FDA regulations that state that beverages advertised as containing 100 percent juice that are also made with non-juice ingredients must indicate that the product is “100% juice with added ingredient(s),” the filing says.

Per the complaint, consumers would not have purchased the Wegmans canned fruit at issue, or would have paid less for them, had they known the products contained an artificial preservative.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased any of the Wegmans canned fruit products mentioned above primarily for personal, family or household purposes, and not for resale.

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