Aldi is embroiled in a class action lawsuit in California for allegedly misrepresenting its fruit and grain bars by claiming they only contain natural products, reports Newsweek. The lawsuit demands $9,999,000 in damages for customers who bought the product in the last four years.
The suit alleges that Aldi, "through its marketing and labeling of the products, misrepresented and deceived consumers regarding the flavoring in the products," and it "did so for the purpose of enriching itself and it in fact enriched itself by doing so."
Independent third-party laboratory testing of the retailer's Millville Fruit & Grain cereal bars revealed they contained DL malic acid, a synthetic flavoring, according to the lawsuit. In a filing on May 30 a lawyer for plaintiff Deana Lozano, a health care administrator, argued that the “no artificial flavors” claim must therefore be false.
Malic acid is an ingredient that can occur both naturally as well as synthetically, but DL malic acid is a synthetic variety produced by the “catalytic oxidation of benzene” according to the National Library of Medicine. Full Story
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