Musgrave v. ICC/Marie Callender’s Gourmet Products Division, No. 3:14-cv-02006-JST (N.D. Cal.): In this putative class action alleging that defendant’s bread and muffin mixes are falsely labeled and marketed as “all natural” when they in fact contain Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (“SAPP”), a synthetic ingredient, a federal judge in California dismissed plaintiff’s unjust enrichment and injunctive claims but allowed various California statutory and common law consumer protection, warranty, and contract claims to proceed.

The court began by rejecting defendant’s preemption and primary jurisdiction arguments. Because the plaintiff seeks to enforce California laws that parallel federal requirements, rather than creating additional or different requirements, the court held the plaintiff’s claims are not preempted. Regarding the primary jurisdiction argument, the court concluded that whether the use of the term “all natural” is misleading to consumers if the product contains a synthetic ingredient does not require the FDA’s particular expertise. The court also noted that the FDA has already articulated a policy that a product is not “natural” if it contains synthetic substances, thus further guidance from the FDA is not necessary.