Health-Ade hit with class action lawsuit claiming its kombucha contains PFAS

By Clark Mindock

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Beverage maker Health-Ade has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit alleging several of the company’s kombucha products contain toxic “forever chemicals.”

Alanna Morton, a New York resident, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, claiming the company misleadingly marketed and advertised its kombucha as a “health” product even though it tested positive for dangerously high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The lawsuit claims PFAS were found in the company’s Ginger Pineapple Belly Reset, Mint Limeade, Cayenne Cleanse, Pomegranate Berry and Strawberry Glow with bamboo extract and biotin products.

Morton said she would have purchased the products had the company included labels indicating the drinks contained PFAS, which are a class of thousands of chemicals used in a wide range of consumer products like -stick pans and stain resistant clothing. PFAS have been tied to many health issues including cancer, hormonal dysfunction and ulcerative colitis.

Health-Ade, a California-based company that sells kombucha and soft drinks, did immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The lawsuit said the company misleads consumers by putting warnings on labels that the drinks contain PFAS, in violation of New York business law. It seeks to represent all consumers in the United States who recently bought the products.

PFAS have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do break down easily or quickly in the human body or the environment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the chemicals may be in the blood of 97% of Americans.

The presence of PFAS in consumer products, drinking water and the environment has led to an increase in lawsuits against companies that manufacture the chemicals or sell products containing them in recent years.

Legal experts predict many more lawsuits against consumer companies that produce clothing, personal hygiene products and other products like food wrappers will be filed in the coming year accusing them of failing to disclose their products contain PFAS, continuing a growing trend seen in recent years.

Many of the existing cases are in early stages of litigation. Companies defending similar lawsuits have argued that third-party testing of their products was inaccurate and did actually show the products at issue contain PFAS. Other companies have argued that their labels did mislead consumers by omitting mentions of the presence of alleged PFAS, since the companies were aware of it themselves.

Legal experts have said the lack of regulations addressing PFAS in consumer products opens the door for companies to argue that they do have a duty to disclose the presence of the chemicals in their products on labels.

The Health-Ade complaint said at least four PFAS compounds were found in the drinks that were tested, and that the chemicals are dangerous “even at very low levels.”

The complaint alleges PFAS were found in the products at concentrations between 13 and 75 parts per trillion.

The case is Morton v. Health-Ade LLC, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 7:24-cv-00173.

For the class: Joshua Arisohn, Philip Fraietta and Alec Leslie of Bursor & Fisher

For Health-Ade: Not yet available

Read more:

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(Reporting by Clark Mindock)