A proposed class action lawsuit filed on February 4 alleged that Poland Spring sparkling water, owned by BlueTriton Brands, Inc., misled consumers with the claim “a twist of lemon” because the water lacked “the amount and type of lemon ingredients expected by plaintiff and consumers." As alleged in the complaint, customers expect the lemon flavor to come from lemon oil, lemon extract, or lemon juice, instead of natural flavors.

The plaintiff, Timothy Alexander, argued that the claim “a twist of lemon” refers to the “literal twisting of the outer portion of a lemon round,” and would cause a consumer to believe that the water contained actual lemon juice. However, as estimated in the complaint, the water likely only contained approximately 0.1 mL of lemon ingredients.

In addition to the “a twist of lemon” claim, the label also declared a characterizing flavor statement, or as referred to in the complaint as a “disclaimer.” Alexander argued that the “disclaimer” (i.e., “naturally flavored spring water with other natural flavors and CO2”) is “used so extensively on labeling that is has become the equivalent of a labeling tic, affixed to a majority of products with added flavoring,” and thus does not inform consumers that the product does not contain an appreciable amount of lemon.

The complaint stated that the value of the water purchased by Alexander was materially less than the value represented by BlueTriton, and that more water was sold at higher prices than would have been had the “a twist of lemon” claim not been declared on the label. Alexander seeks to represent customers in Illinois under the state’s customer fraud and deceptive practices law, as well as customers in Iowa, Arizona, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, West Virginia, Michigan, Texas, Arkansas, Virginia, and Oklahoma as part of a separate consumer fraud multistate class.