A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Walmart and Cal-Maine Foods, with the plaintiffs claiming the two companies misled consumers about the conditions in which hens that laid Walmart store brand Organic Marketside eggs were raised.
According to Hagens Berman, the legal firm involved in filing the suit, consumers paid high prices for what they were told were eggs laid by hens “free to roam, nest and perch in a protected barn with outdoor access.” However, according to the lawsuit, Walmart and Cal-Maine knew the hens were raised in barns with enclosed porches, and were unable to touch the soil or vegetation surrounding the barns.
The suit, which was filed on January 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks reimbursement for consumers who paid premium prices for Walmart’s Organic Marketside store-brand eggs, which were sold as being laid by hens with outdoor access. The suit also seeks an injunction from the court to force Walmart and Cal-Maine to end the marketing of Organic Marketside eggs.
Currently, under U.S. regulations, egg production indoor facilities with porches would qualify for the USDA Certified Organic Program, although proposed changes to the organic rules would no longer allow eggs from indoor facilities with porches an organic certification. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), under the Donald Trump Administration, in December proposed a rule requesting public comment on its intent to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) proposed final rule published in January 2017.
“Walmart is the largest and most profitable retailer in the world, and it chose to knowingly scam those trying to do good with their purchasing power,” Elaine Byszewski, a partner of Hagens Berman, alleged in a press release. “We believe Walmart and Cal-Maine knew that despite the promise of ‘outdoor access’ on the cartons of eggs they sold, the hens that laid their store-brand eggs were confined inside industrial barns.”
Cal-Maine Foods has not yet publicly commented on the allegations, while Walmart, when contacted by Reuters, stated that it had not reviewed the lawsuit, but was taking the claims seriously.
