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ARTICLE · 15 JANUARY 2021

The Scoop On All That Vanilla Flavor Litigation

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If your company sells any vanilla-flavored food or beverage product, then you are probably aware of the innumerable class action cases that have been filed over the last 18 months

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Robert J Guite
Robert J Guite
Abby Meyer
Abby Meyer
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This article was originally published on Food Navigator on January 13, 2021.

If your company sells any vanilla-flavored food or beverage product, then you are probably aware of the innumerable class action cases that have been filed over the last 18 months attacking these products – 67 cases by our count.  Here, we trace the history of this litigation and the outcomes achieved to date.

History

The first vanilla flavoring class action case was filed in February 2019 in the Eastern District of New York.  At the time, chocolate confectioners were facing a number of class action cases arising from their use of "white chocolate" on labels.  Thus, in context, the vanilla cases first appeared to be a variation on a  theme.  However, the vanilla litigation soon took on an astonishing life of its own, with a new case filed just about every month, with the pace accelerating further in the fall.  Nine vanilla flavor cases were filed in October 2019 alone.

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