Class Action: PÜR Peppermint Gum Contains Less Peppermint Than Label Suggests

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action alleges PÜR-brand peppermint gum is falsely advertised in that it contains less real peppermint than consumers are led to expect.

According to the nine-page case, although The Pur Company (USA) Inc. represents on the front label of the PÜR gum that the product is “peppermint,” the ingredients list reveals that the gum contains no actual peppermint.

The filing argues that by positioning the product as “peppermint” without any “qualifying terms,” consumers are led to expect that the gum’s taste comes from real peppermint ingredients. Ultimately, consumers paid more for the product than they would have had they known the gum did not contain peppermint, the lawsuit claims.

Per the suit, consumers prefer, and are willing to pay more for, foods that derive their taste from their actual ingredients rather than flavor additives. Moreover, federal and state food labeling regulations require a product’s front label to disclose the source of its “characterizing” or primary flavor—which, in this case, is peppermint.

Because the PÜR gum states “peppermint” on its front label without any qualifying terms such as “natural flavor,” consumers are led to expect that the gum’s flavor comes from actual peppermint ingredients, according to the suit.

The lawsuit states, however, that the product’s ingredients list contains no peppermint ingredients, such as peppermint oil or peppermint extract, and lists only “natural flavors” as the ingredient that provides the peppermint taste. Per the suit, the “natural flavors” component contains, at most, only trace, or de minimis, amounts of real peppermint.

The case contends that the defendant has sold more of the PÜR peppermint gum, and at higher prices, than it would have absent “the false and misleading representations.”

The suit looks to cover anyone in New York, Alabama, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Mississippi, Utah, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia who purchased PÜR gum within the applicable statute of limitations.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.