Walmart sued over hidden mold in Great Value product
Chia seeds have spent years cultivating a wholesome little wellness-guru reputation. Sprinkle them into a smoothie and suddenly your breakfast is “clean eating.” Add them to overnight oats and you are basically a person who has their life together.
This idea unraveled recently for a Walmart shopper who says his bag of Great Value Chia Seeds had mold in it. Now, the grocer is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit over it.
The lawsuit says the chia seeds were growing more than just your breakfast
Nicholis Palmier, who bought Great Value Chia Seeds at a Walmart Supercenter in Homestead, Florida, filed a lawsuit accusing the retailer of selling seeds containing undeclared mold and yeast. According to the lawsuit, testing by ConsumerLab.com allegedly found 8,000 colony-forming units (CFU) of mold per gram in the chia seeds.
For comparison, the lawsuit says the United States Pharmacopeia allows 1,000 CFU/g for botanical products. As further stated in the lawsuit, the mold wasn't visibly obvious when Palmier and other consumers looked at the product. Instead, samples allegedly showed mold growth during testing.
The problem isn't just that mold sounds gross
Palmier's lawsuit argues that consumers would not have paid as much for the product if they knew it contained mold and yeast. It also alleges that the contamination could potentially cause adverse health effects.
The proposed class action further accuses Walmart of violating Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It also alleges violations involving express and implied warranties, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.
Palmier is seeking damages, legal fees and costs, a jury trial, and certification of the case as a class action. If the class action is certified, that could potentially expand the case beyond Palmier to other customers who allegedly bought the same product.
For now, the allegations remain allegations, and the lawsuit still has to make its way through the legal system. But it does offer one extremely unglamorous reminder about how “healthy” foods sometimes aren’t as healthy as we believe.
Source: The U.S. Sun
