Campbell’s faces kettle of trouble over missing avocado oil

A California resident says she's loyal to premium ingredients like avocado oil — but a recent study revealed Campbell's Kettle Brand chips contain seed oils instead.FRESNO, Calif. (CN) — A California woman has filed a class action against the Campbell’s Company over its purported misrepresentation that avocado oil is used in a brand of potato chips.Diana Heiland, of Fresno, argues she bought the Kettle Brand Avocado Oil Sea Salt With a Hint of Pink Peppercorn Potato Chips because she’s health conscious. Heiland avoids seed oils, pointing to their harmful health effects, and relied on the company’s representation that it had real avocado oil.“Plaintiff Heiland understood defendant’s representation to mean exactly what defendant claims: that the product is made with avocado oil and that the only oil used is avocado oil,” she wrote Tuesday in her complaint filed in California federal court.Heiland and the class faced an economic injury when they bought the chips, she says. They wouldn’t have purchased the product if they knew it didn’t have avocado oil, and paid more money compared to other items without the misrepresentation. Additionally, Campbell’s product didn’t have the ingredients and benefits it claimed.She claims that Campbell’s has violated California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, its Unfair Competition Law and its False Advertising Law. Heiland asks a federal judge to certify a nationwide class and California subclass, declare that Campbell’s violated the statutes and rule in favor of the classes.The legal filing is a class action because the claims exceed $5 million, there are over 100 members of the putative classes and most members live in different states, Heiland says.According to Heiland, she most recently bought the chips at a Fresno Walmart this month, thinking they’d be a healthy alternative to items with seed oil.However, she notes that a July study performed by UC Davis food scientists and published in the journal “Applied Food Research” showed otherwise.“Every sample of every product was classified as compositionally inconsistent with authentic avocado oil,” Heiland says. “Instead, the oil recovered from the product bore the compositional signature of cheap, refined vegetable (seed) oils.”The lack of avocado oil, and presence of cheap oils, shows widespread problems in Campbell’s manufacturing, she adds.Heiland calls avocado oil a premium ingredient, and consumers will pay more for it, as she and the class did.“Had they known the truth — that the is not made with avocado oil and that the product contains other, cheap, refined seed oils — they would not have purchased the product, or would have paid substantially less for it,” she says.Heiland points out that she would buy those potato chips again. But without scientific testing to reveal their actual composition, she can’t purchase them because she’s unable to make informed decisions. She also worries Campbell’s will continue to mislead her, unless the company is compelled to properly represent the items it sells.Campbell’s use of the phrase “Made with Avocado Oil” appeals to people searching for the best ingredients who shun other oils used in snacks. It also knows that people rely on a company’s claims about the ingredients its products contain, Heiland says.The company takes part in the manufacture, sale and distribution of the potato chips. It’s also responsible for advertising, marketing and packaging.“Defendant is also directly responsible for ensuring that its product’s oil content conforms to the advertised claims,” Heiland says. “Thus, defendant’s failure to ensure at its manufacturing facilities that its product actually contained avocado oil affects all batches and lots of defendant’s product, including plaintiff’s purchases.”In a statement to Courthouse News, a Campbell’s representative said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads