Tropicana Faces Class Action Over 'Natural' Claims

Several companies have been earning flack lately for mislabeling their products as "healthy" or "GMO-free" and even orange juice is earning its fair share of criticism.

Juice-maker Tropicana, a PepsiCo brand, has failed to dismiss a U.S. class action that claims the company falsely labeled its orange juice as "100 percent pure and natural," despite its use of pasteurization, processing, coloring and flavoring, according to Beverage Daily.

The class action is a consolidation of different customer lawsuits dating back to December 2011. The lawsuit disputed language like that on the company's website, reading "no water, sugar or preservatives are ever added and it is never from concentrate, so you can get only the freshest, most delicious straight-from-the-orange taste."

Lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Caroline Bartlett, told BeverageDaily that she was pleased with the outcome and was looking forward to continue the fight in court.

While they will have to continue to bout in court, Tropicana released a statement saying it stands behind its claims. Tropicana will now file an answer to an amended complaint on August 5, according to Beverage Daily.