Vanilla Flavor in Wegmans Vanilla Cake Mix Not Sourced from Real Vanilla Beans, Class Action Claims [UPDATE]
by Erin Shaak
Last Updated on March 11, 2022
Santiful et al. v. Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.
Filed: April 9, 2020 ◆§ 7:20-cv-02933
A proposed class action claims the packaging of Wegmans-brand “Vanilla Cake Mix” misleads consumers with regard to the amount of real vanilla in the product.
Case Updates
March 11, 2022 – Second Amended Complaint Filed
The plaintiffs in the case detailed on this page filed a second amended complaint on February 28, seizing an opportunity to substantiate their claims after Judge Roman granted Wegmans’ motion to dismiss in late January.
The amended complaint can be read here.
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February 2, 2022 – Lawsuit Dismissed, Plaintiffs Given Another Chance
The judge overseeing the case detailed on this page has granted Wegmans’ motion to dismiss while giving the plaintiffs a chance to amend their claims.
U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Roman stated in an 18-page January 28 order that the plaintiffs had failed to show that a reasonable consumer would be misled by the vanilla cake mix packaging. According to the order, the amended complaint offered no evidence supporting the argument that the product’s labeling implies that its flavor is derived predominantly from vanilla extract.
“The Amended Complaint’s allegations that consumers expect the Product to be flavored mainly or predominantly with flavoring from vanilla beans are conclusory statements that the Court is not required to accept,” the judge wrote.
The order further noted that similar claims have been “repeatedly rejected in near-identical lawsuits” involving vanilla products.
The judge agreed with the analyses in those cases, finding that Wegmans never claimed anywhere on the vanilla cake mix packaging that the product was flavored mostly with real vanilla or is made with vanilla extract.
Judge Roman also found that the plaintiffs’ “lab testing” purportedly revealing that the cake mix’s flavoring comes from non-vanilla sources is “worthless” given the complaint failed to state who performed the tests, what type of analyses were performed and what methods were used.
“Most devastating” to the plaintiffs’ argument, the order stated, is that the apparently artificial flavors mentioned in the complaint—ethyl vanillin, vanillin, maltol and piperonal—can be either artificial or natural, and the plaintiffs failed to allege that these flavors were artificially derived.
“Absent any factually substantiated allegations that these flavors are in fact not derived from natural sources, the Court finds Plaintiffs have failed to allege the presence of artificial flavors and therefore their claims about the ingredient list fails,” Judge Roman wrote.
The judge gave the plaintiffs until February 28, 2022 to file a second amended complaint but remained “skeptical” that they would be able to substantiate their allegations.
A proposed class action claims the packaging of Wegmans-brand “Vanilla Cake Mix” misleads consumers with regard to the amount of real vanilla in the product.
The case claims that although the cake mix sold by defendant Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is described as “Vanilla” on the front of the box, the product’s characterizing vanilla flavor comes predominantly from undeclared non-vanilla sources. In fact, the suit alleges, vanilla beans or other vanilla-sourced flavors are notably absent from the list of the product’s ingredients, which denotes “natural flavors” as the cake mix’s only flavoring ingredient.
The lawsuit claims the use of the term “natural flavors” in the product’s ingredients list indicates that the cake mix contains non-vanilla flavors such as vanillin that “imitate and extend vanilla” but are not sourced from vanilla beans. According to the suit, these artificial flavors must be disclosed to consumers on the front label in order for the packaging to comply with both food labeling law and consumer expectations.
The 23-page complaint claims Wegmans’ designation of the cake mix as “vanilla” without any qualifying terms, such as “flavored,” “with other natural flavors,” or “artificially flavored,” misleads consumers as to the source of the product’s characterizing flavor. A reasonable consumer who views the product’s front packaging would mistakenly believe that the cake mix’s characterizing vanilla flavor was sourced exclusively from real vanilla beans, the lawsuit argues.
The quality of ingredients in a food product is material to consumers, the lawsuit asserts, adding that buyers aim to purchase products flavored with real vanilla as opposed to non-vanilla source material “for reasons including nutrition, health and/or the avoidance of chemicals and highly processed ingredients.”
According to the case, Wegmans’ allegedly deceptive advertising has allowed the grocery store chain to sell more of its Vanilla Cake Mix, and at higher prices, than it would have “in the absence of this conduct.”
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