Minute Maid Class Action Claims Fruit Punch Contains Undisclosed Chemical Preservative
by Brian Eckert
A proposed Milberg class action lawsuit alleges that Minute Maid Fruit Punch is mislabeled because the beverage contains the undisclosed chemical preservative citric acid.
Anyone who purchased Minute Maid Fruit Punch may be eligible to join the lawsuit and recover compensation under consumer protection laws.
Consumers Looking For Healthier Food Options
Consumers are increasingly conscious about food ingredients and the importance of healthy eating.
A recent survey from McKinsey & Company found that more than 70% of respondents strive to be healthier, and 50% said that food, including food that is less processed and does not contain artificial ingredients, is essential to achieving that goal.
Research from Mintel reveals that 84% of Americans who buy food bearing “free-from” labels do so out of concern about their health, with 71% considering “preservative-free” to be the most important free-from claim.
When a food is labeled as “natural” more than half of U.S. adults assume the product is made entirely of whole ingredients and 49% believe the product contains no preservatives.
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has no formal definition for “natural.” The USDA says natural products are minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients, but this standard only applies to egg, meat, and poultry products.
In one study, when consumers were asked to choose a product that was the closest to their understanding of what “natural” means on product labels, they showed a preference for products with “No Preservatives” labels.
Plaintiffs Say “No Preservatives Added” Claim Is Misleading
Worldwide, the health and wellness food market grew from $516 billion in 2023 to $554 billion in 2024 and is expected increase to $859 billion by 2030.
According to Milberg’s class action lawsuit, manufacturers like Coca-Cola take advantage of consumer demand for preservative-free foods—and the lack of rules and regulations specifying what “natural” means on food labels—knowing that consumer are willing to pay a premium for products they perceive as healthy.
Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid Fruit Punch displays prominently on the label that it is “Made With Real Fruit Juice,” contains “100% Natural Flavors,” and that there are “No Preservatives Added.”
The claim that Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid Fruit Punch has “No Preservatives Added” is false and misleading due to the use of citric acid as a preservative, plaintiffs say in a 17-page complaint filed in New York federal court on August 14, 2024.
Defendant advertises on label of the Products that they have “No Preservatives Added.” Thus, reasonable consumers are led to believe the Products are free from preservatives. However, the Products contain citric acid, a well-known preservative.
Some citric acid is naturally occurring and derived from citrus fruits. But more than 90% of commercially produced citric acid—including the citric acid found in Minute Maid Fruit Punch—is manufactured from the black mold Aspergillus niger using extensive chemical processing, the complaint states.
Plaintiffs Juan Delvalle and Kymberlea Durant say that when they purchased Minute Maid Fruit Punch, they relied on the representation that the product has “No Preservatives Added” and interpreted this claim to mean the product does not contain any chemical preservatives.
The presence of the known preservative citric acid in a product represented as being preservative-free was likely to deceive reasonable consumers such as themselves, the plaintiffs add.
Plaintiffs seek to represent a national class and a New York subclass of consumers who purchased Minute Maid Fruit Punch and lost money as a result of Coca-Cola’s alleged false and misleading labeling. They cite violations of New York General Business Law and assert claims for compensatory and statutory damages.
Milberg: A National Leader in Consumer Protection Lawsuits
Milberg’s Nick Suciu III, Erin J. Ruben, and J. Hunter Bryson are representing the plaintiffs and class members. The lawsuit is the latest Milberg class action targeting products with “preservative-free” and “no artificial preservatives” claims.
More than 60 years ago, Milberg pioneered the use of federal class action litigation to hold big companies accountable and we remain a national leader in filing class action lawsuits.
From 2021 to 2023, Milberg filed 961 consumer protection lawsuits—the third most of any firm in the country. Over the same period, the firm filed the fifth most class action lawsuits (892).
Twelve of our lawyers have been named to the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, including several who practice in the areas of consumer protection and product liability law.
