Popular New York Grocery Store Sued Over “Food Fraud”

Two people, who apparently have a lot of free time on their hands, have sued Wegmans over something known as food fraud. In this case, the two men accuse the store's vanilla ice cream of not actually having any vanilla in it.

The Buffalo News reports that the class action suit claims Wegmans vanilla ice cream gets its flavor from natural flavors instead of vanilla, and should read "vanilla flavored ice cream".

For decades, consumers have expected products containing vanilla ice cream to be exclusively flavored by real vanilla derived from the vanilla plant and contain a sufficient amount of vanilla to characterize the food.

The Buffalo news says the suit accuses the grocery chain of violating consumer protection laws, committing negligent representation, fraud, breach of warranty and unjust enrichment.

NBC New York reports that one of the men suing is from Pennsylvania, and the other from the Bronx. NBC reports that the sore has responded:

We take great pride in the quality of all of our Wegmans Brand products. We believe that the labeling of our ice cream fully complies with all regulations and industry standards, and is not misleading in any way.

The news is a bit out of left field, as the Rochester, NY based chain earned the title of America's best corporate reputation, according to a poll conducted by Axios and Harris in March 2019. Wegmans continues to expand, with their first New York City location opening in the Brooklyn Navy Yards in 2019. Their Harrison location, in Westchester County, is anticipating a spring 2020 opening.

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