New developments in three high-profile fale advertising lawsuits underline the risks associated with making ‘all-natural’ claims on foods made with genetically engineered ingredients, with Kashi and Karlin Foods agreeing to sizeable settlements, and Campbell under fire over Prego labels.

Kashi has agreed to pay up to $3.99million to settle an ‘all-natural’ false advertising class action in Florida *; Karlin Foods agreed to pay up to $825,00 to settle a lawsuit over ‘all-natural’ labels on cornstarch (also in Florida); and Campbell Soup has been hit with an amended lawsuit over ‘100% natrual’ claims on Prego sauces in California.

Kashi – which agreed to settle a similar case in California last year for $5m – was accused of misleadingly and unlawfully labeling cereals, bars, snacks, and pizzas as ‘All Natural’ and/or containing ‘Nothing Artificial’ when in fact they contain “bio-engineered, artificial. and synthetic ingredients”.

The plaintiffs took particular issue with: “GMO soy, GMO soy-derivatives, GMO corn, GMO corn-derivatives, pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6], alpha-tocopherol and calcium pantothenate [vitamin B5],” which they argued, a reasonable consumer would not expect to find in products labeled ‘all-natural’.