Kinder’s Lawsuit Claims ‘No Salt’ Seasoning Contains Salt

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges certain Kinder’s “No Salt” seasonings have been falsely advertised given that a main ingredient in the products is potassium chloride, a salt.

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The 34-page false advertising lawsuit against P.K. Kinder Co. says the company’s No Salt Garlic & Herb, No Salt Blackened, and No Salt The Taco Blend easonings are falsely touted, “in big, bright all-white capital letters against a dark background” in the center of their front product labels, as containing no salt, misleading consumers. The potassium chloride found in each of the Kinder’s seasonings is “an unequivocal salt,” the filing stresses.

According to the suit, the average consumer spends roughly 13 seconds making a purchasing decision in-store, and that choice “is heavily based upon the product’s front label.”

“By deceptively marketing the Products as having ‘No Salt,’ Kinder’s wrongfully capitalizes on and reaps enormous profits from consumers’ preference for food products that are perceived to contain ‘No Salt,’” the case summarizes.

The filing asserts that both potassium chloride and sodium chloride are salts, which is defined as “an ionic chemical compound formed by replacing all or part of the hydrogen ions of an acid with metal ions or other cations.”

The case concedes that although “salt” usually refers to sodium chloride in the context of food, the Food and Drug Administration in December 2020 issued guidance to food makers of its intent to “exercise enforcement discretion” for the declaration of “potassium salt” in the ingredients list on product labels as an alternative to “potassium chloride.”

Per the lawsuit, the FDA highlighted that food manufacturers aiming to cut sodium chloride in products sometimes use substitutes, such as potassium chloride, since sodium chloride and potassium chloride “have similar tastes and functions”:

“The FDA has taken the position that the alternate name ‘potassium salt’ may help consumers understand the use of potassium chloride as a salt substitute and that ‘[t]he term “salt” conveys that the ingredient is a salt, similar to sodium chloride,’” the complaint reads.

In light of the foregoing, the case contends that while Kinder’s “no salt” representation may be literally true, such that the seasonings do not contain sodium chloride, it is nevertheless misleading to reasonable consumers given that the products contain potassium chloride.

“Defendant’s practice of capitalizing on consumers’ preferences for ‘No Salt’ products is deceptive. This deception continues today, as consumers continue to purchase the Products under the mistaken belief that they contain no salt based on Defendant’s false, deceptive, and misleading labeling and advertising of the Products as having ‘No Salt.’”

The Kinder’s seasoning lawsuit looks to cover all individuals who bought any of the Kinder’s seasonings listed on this page from a third-party retailer for personal use and not for resale within the last four years.

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