Dole Fruits Packaged in ‘100% Fruit Juice’ Contain Preservatives, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that certain Dole-brand fruits are falsely advertised in that the “100% fruit juice” in which they’re packaged also contains ascorbic and citric acid.

According to the 17-page case, ascorbic and citric acid act as preservatives and flavor agents, and are thus not “fruit juice.” Per the suit, reasonable consumers do not expect these additional ingredients to be in a product marketed as sold “in 100% fruit juice,” and believe based on Dole’s representations that the juice in each container is in fact entirely fruit juice.

“Defendant claims that the Fruit is ‘in 100% fruit juice’ when it actually contains the Added Ingredients,” the complaint states. “Because the Added Ingredients are not fruit juice, the claim ‘in 100% fruit juice’ is inaccurate, deceptive, unfair, and misleading to purchasers.”

The lawsuit says that defendant Dole Packaged Foods, LLC has mislabeled its Cherry Mixed Fruit, Diced Apples, Diced Pears, Mandarin Oranges, Mixed Fruit, Pineapple Tidbits, Red Grapefruit Sunrise, Tropical Fruit, and Yellow Cling Diced Peaches as “in 100% fruit juice.”

As the case tells it, ascorbic acid is a source of vitamin C but is used primarily as a preservative when added to processed foods.

Citric acid, the suit says, can be found naturally in fruit but is more often a commercially manufactured food additive used in processed foods as a pH adjuster to “induce tart flavor” and control the growth of microorganisms. In other words, citric acid is a flavor agent and preservative, the case contends.

The lawsuit alleges that the “in 100% fruit juice” claim on packages of the Dole fruit products is misleading given ascorbic and citric acid are “not fruit juice.”

“Because the Fruit contains the Added Ingredients, the representation that the Fruit is ‘in 100% fruit juice’ is unfair, false, deceptive, and misleading,” the complaint states.

The case claims consumers have paid more for the Dole fruit products than they otherwise would have if they had known the fruit did not come “in 100% fruit juice” and instead contained added ingredients.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who purchased the Dole-brand Cherry Mixed Fruit, Diced Apples, Diced Pears, Mandarin Oranges, Mixed Fruit, Pineapple Tidbits, Red Grapefruit Sunrise, Tropical Fruit, and Yellow Cling Diced Peaches with the label “in 100% Fruit Juice” for personal, family or household purposes during the past five years.

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