Whenever a product begins to bear the “health halo” of some sort of nutritional alternative to processed foods, the manufacturers have to make sure they aren’t misleading customers. Almond milk producer Blue Diamond has come under fire for possibly false claims on its packaging that suggest it utilizes more almonds than it declares.
According to Forbes contributor Jess Collen, a new class action suit suggests that both Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze and Silk, another brand, actually contain a minimal amount of almonds, as opposed to other additives. As the source notes, the chief issue here centers around the depiction of the product on the label.
The plaintiffs in the case believe that most customers will, without an explicit statement otherwise, assume that the milk is made up of mostly almonds. This is reportedly similar to another case that occurred in the United Kingdom in 2011, where the official UK Almond Breeze website lists the almond content as a mere 2 percent of the beverage.
Collen states that the results of this case could impact the way the brands are portrayed in the future.
“If the plaintiffs win, the defendants may be forced to do some corrective advertising (one of the remedies that are demanded in the complaint),” he writes. “Labeling will likely change long before a trial date is set; Silk seems to already have been making changes even before this complaint was filed.”
Elements like placement and label clarity can impact how the most important pieces of product information are absorbed. Companies should print food and beverage labels with high-quality printers like the Primera LX900, which is fast and responsive, as well as easy to use.
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