Dive Brief:
- California's Supreme Court ruled that consumers can file lawsuits when they believe a food product is incorrectly labeled as "organic."
- A previous lower court decision had barred these types of lawsuits because federal law superseded and did not permit them.
- "Congress wanted only state and federal officials to police organic food violations in order to create a national standard for organic foods, a division of the 2nd District Court of Appeal decided in 2013. But the state Supreme Court said allowing consumer lawsuits would further congressional goals of curtailing fraud and ensuring consumers can rely on organic labels," the Associated Press reported.
Dive Insight:
"Accordingly, state lawsuits alleging intentional organic mislabeling promote, rather than hinder, Congress's purposes and objectives," according to Associate Justice Kathryn Werdegar.
Consumer Michelle Quesada filed a lawsuit that alleged Herb Thyme Farms Inc., one of the largest U.S. herb producers, had mixed organic and non-organic herbs while falsely labeling the herbs as "100% organic." The company said in court documents that it had authorization from the USDA to include the organic label on its product's packaging.
"If a lone consumer can second-guess the USDA's certification, and a grower cannot rely on its federal authorization to use the term, the already high cost of production of such products will skyrocket, or more likely, there will be no organic products to enjoy," according to Mark Kemple, an attorney for Herb Thyme Farms, in a 2014 brief to the California Supreme Court. Per the ruling, Quesada's lawsuit has been reinstated. The California ruling could prove relevant to cases outside the state.
More manufacturers and retailers have begun expanding their organic offerings or acquiring organic companies. McCormick announced earlier this year that a vast majority of its products would be non-GMO and organic by 2016. Flowers Baking Co., a subsidiary of Flowers Foods, Inc., also recently announced it would start producing organic bread in the spring of 2016, including an $8 million investment in a new bread production line.