SAN FRANCISCO — Walmart’s zero-calorie stevia sweeteners are the target of a federal class-action lawsuit filed in California that alleges the products are misleadingly promoted as “made with stevia extract” when in fact their main ingredient is the sugar alcohol erythritol.
Plaintiff Lee Ann Winter of the northern California community of Rohnert Park filed the class action on Oct. 23 in the Northern District of California. The complaint argues that the product labels imply that the sweeteners are solely derived from stevia – a characterization that violates the California Business and Professions Code and amounts to misleading advertising and a breach of express warranty.
The complaint, which seeks approval of a class consisting of hundreds of thousands of Californians who purchased Walmart stevia products during the past four years, says an independent testing lab commissioned by the plaintiff’s legal team showed that Walmart’s Great Value No Calorie Stevia Packets were 94.44% erythritol. The company’s Stevia Sweetener Sugar Substitute was 59.12% erythritol but also contained dextrose, maltodextrin and a trace amount of rebiana, a stevia leaf extract, the lawsuit states.
The complaint says Walmart has been exploiting certain consumers’ wish to buy only sweeteners consisting of stevia.
“Defendant intentionally omits the truth – that the products are primarily comprised of erythritol, a chemically processed sugar alcohol with known health risks, including heart attack, stroke and digestive issues,” the lawsuit says.
The plaintiff does acknowledge that the ingredients list of the stevia packets mentions erythritol as the first ingredient and that the sugar substitute’s first ingredient is also listed as erythritol, followed by the remaining ingredients: dextrose/maltodextrin, rebiana and natural flavors.
“Even assuming the ‘made with stevia extract’ claim (on the labels) were considered ambiguous, the ingredient-list disclosure on the back label of the products does not cure the deception,” the complaint says. “While erythritol appears in the ingredient list, its presence and dominant quantity as the primary sweetener are not disclosed.”
The lawsuit argues that reasonable consumers of such products would assume that a product prominently marketed as “stevia” and “made with stevia extract” is not sweetened with erythritol.’
“Reasonable consumers of (the) defendant's products … are misled to believe that they are purchasing a sweetener whose sweetness is derived solely from stevia extract when in fact they are purchasing a product that is primarily sweetened with erythritol,” the lawsuit says.
A Walmart spokesperson told Legal Newsline in an email that, “We will review the complaint and respond appropriately to the court."
The lawsuit indicates that the size of a potential damages award in the case exceeds $5 million. The class action seeks a court order stating the defendant’s conduct violates state laws, as well as an order providing class members with compensatory, statutory, monetary and punitive damages, plus restitution or disgorgement and attorney fees.
The lawsuit is not the only recent legal action targeting Walmart grocery products. A class action filed in June in the Southern District of Florida alleges that Walmart’s Great Value Organic Chia Seeds contains excessive levels of mold, according to the website Top Class Actions.
