CATrends: Chips Made with Avocado Oil

In July, food scientists at the University of California, Davis published a study that found that the vast majority of avocado oil-labeled chips do not contain authentic avocado oil. Or as the scientists put it: 26 out of 28 chips tested “exhibited compositional patterns inconsistent with authentic avocado oil” and “more consistent with substitution or dilution using vegetable oils.”

The class-action lawsuits have followed.

In just the last two months, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed against brands accusing them of falsely marketing chips as made with avocado oil, with each of the complaints citing product testing conducted by the UC Davis food scientists.

UTZ is currently facing seven lawsuits challenging its marketing of Boulder Canyon kettle chips as made with avocado oil – claims that the complaints allege are reinforced on the back label, which lists “avocado oil” as the only oil ingredient.

Meanwhile, one of the two lawsuits filed against The Campbell’s Company over its alleged deceptive avocado oil marketing of its Kettle brand chips asserts that:

Avocado oil is a premium ingredient, and consumers pay a premium for products made with it. Plaintiff and Class members paid that premium for the Product. Had they known the truth—that the Product 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.

Additional chip brands named in litigation include Good Health (another UTZ brand), Sprouts, Siete and Sensible Portions. The majority of the complaints were filed in New York or California. They are all pending.

This is not the first time that scientists at UC Davis have sparked a class-action trend involving avocado oil. Two years ago, there was a spate of lawsuits filed against sellers of avocado oils used for cooking after UC Davis scientists found the products to be adulterated.

Find more of our coverage on ingredient claims.