USA – A New Yorker David Feldman has filed a complaint in the US District Court accusing Utz Quality Foods and Good Health Natural Products of false advertising for its ‘Healthy’ veggie snacks.
Bakery and Snacks news has reported that the accuser alleges that the companies’ option to label their line of vegetable snacks as ‘Made with Extra Goodness!” was quite deceptive.
Additionally, he has tagged the two food processors with deceptive practice, false advertising, breach of warranties and unjust enrichment, arguing that the defendants had replaced a blend of vegetable-derived ingredients with synthetic additives in their Extra Goodness! products, including vegetable straws and chips.
In the suit, he noted that Utz and Good Health replaced a proprietary blend of spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets and shiitake mushrooms with a ‘cheaper synthetic blend’ in December 2016 and failed to update the ingredient list for more than a year.
He claims that the snacks were not ‘healthful’, that is did not contain the amounts of vegetables or vegetable-derived vitamins as alleged by the manufacturers.
“Although defendants market their products as healthful and nutritious, these products are devoid of the health benefits plaintiff and other reasonable consumers associate with consuming real vegetables.”
In regard to the complaint, Feldman wants the jury to adjudicate for compensatory, treble and punitive damages; prejudgment interest; injunctive relief; attorneys’ fees; expenses and costs of suit.
According to Bakery and Snacks, Utz Quality Foods is the largest independent, privately-held snack brand in US, producing over 3.3 million pounds (1.4 million kg) of snacks per week, including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, corn products and popcorns.
