Cape Cod Chips are not as “crunchy” as they seem, according to a lawsuit that claims the brand of potato chips that are advertised as natural but actually contain synthetic citric acid.
As reported by the food news outlet Delish, the class action lawsuit accuses The Campbell’s Co., which has owned the chip brand since 2018, of false advertising, arguing that packages claiming “no artificial ingredients, colors, or preservatives” are misleading.
The chips contain synthetic citric acid, which is used as a preservative, and is not commercially available. Therefore, any citric acid used in packaged foods is made synthetically, according to the article.
The complaint, accessed by Delish, states that Cape Cod “makes these natural claims in an effort to capitalize on the growing market for natural products. Health-conscious consumers are willing to pay a price premium for products labeled and advertised as natural because they believe that such products are safer and/or healthier to consume.”
The litigation maintains that consumers would either have paid less for the product or not purchased it at all if they had known it contained a synthetic ingredient.