Santa Clara, CA: A consumer fraud class action lawsuit has been filed against Tabatchnick Fine Foods Inc., alleging the soups it advertises as “all natural” are made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
According to the suit, filed by Jerome Ramsaran, the advertisements persuade customers to buy the products, believing that the soups are in fact, “all natural.” Ramsaran claims that he bought at least four types of Tabatchnick’s prepackaged soups, on the strength of the advertising. Had he known that the products contain GMO versions of soy, corn and canola, he wouldn’t have bought them.
“Plaintiff and class members were induced to buy the products by the words ‘all-natural’ on the packaging and defendant’s online representations that the products were all natural,” Ramsaran states. “Plaintiff expected to purchase products with wholesome ingredients untouched by scientific modification, only to learn that they were in fact consuming bioengineered, artificial and synthetic ingredients.” GMOs refer to crops that have been genetically modified to enhance certain traits, such as increased resistance to herbicides. Genetic engineering can carry risks including unexpected toxic or allergenic effects, Ramsaran claims.
According to federal regulations, “all-natural” products do not contain artificial or synthetic ingredients or any ingredients that have been more than minimally processed, the suit states. Any organism that has been bioengineered can no longer be described as “ all natural”, according to the complaint.
The suit claims negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied and express warranties, and violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Ramsaran seeks to represent a class comprising anyone who bought “all-natural” products from Tabatchnick within the past four years. Ramsaran is represented by Angela Arango-Chaffin and Alexander J. Korolinsky.
The case is Jerome Ramsaran v. Tabatchnick Fine Foods Inc., case number 0:17-cv-60794, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
