Dole Wins Judgment in ‘Natural’ Label Suit; Company Says Ruling Will Affect Other Cases

Dole Packaged Foods LLC won a major victory Dec. 8 in a class suit challenging “all natural fruit” labels on packaged products when the Northern District of California said the plaintiff had insufficient proof the label was deceptive (Brazil v. Dole Packaged Foods LLC, 2014 BL 344717, N.D. Cal., 12-01831, 12/8/14).

Chad Brazil failed to show the label could deceive reasonable consumers into thinking the product didn’t contain any synthetic ingredients, Judge Lucy H. Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said. The plaintiff offered his own “non-literal interpretation” that he thought ...