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Unilever Will Pay $8.85 million To Settle ‘Natural Vanilla’ Ice Cream Labeling Suit

Oct. 7, 2024

The class action suit alleged the labels gave the impression the ice cream contained flavor derived only from the vanilla plant, while it apparently also contained non-vanilla sources.

Dave Fusaro

Unilever has agreed to an $8.85 million settlement in a June class action lawsuit over the labeling of its Breyers Natural Vanilla ice cream.

The suit alleged the labeling of the ice cream gave consumers the impression the ice cream contained vanilla flavor derived only from the vanilla plant and not from non-vanilla plant sources -- and the suit also claims the ice cream did contain non-vanilla plant vanilla flavors.

“The defendants dispute all of these allegations and deny any wrongdoing,” said a website set up for the settlement claims. “The court has not decided who is right.”

The settlement, involving Unilever U.S. and its U.S. subsidiary Conopco Inc., will pay claimants $1 for each carton, any size, of Breyers Natural Vanilla ice cream purchased between April 21, 2016 and Aug. 14, 2024.

“Within 12 months of the Settlement becoming final, the Defendants will be required to develop a new Product formula that does not include vanilla flavor derived from non-vanilla plant sources,” the legal website said.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.