Trader Joe’s Faces Legal Battle Over Misleading Packaging

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has settled in its consumer protection lawsuit against retail giant, Trader Joe’s. The company has agreed to pull it’s packaging from shelves nationwide as it’s been classed as misleading.

Trader Joe’s packaging includes images of chickens roaming in open, green spaces, which gives consumers a false indication of the way in which their chickens are kept.

Cage-free chickens still spend their lives in industrial, indoor, confined spaces, and Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells adds: “It’s important for consumers to realise that ‘cage-free’ doesn’t mean ‘cruelty-free’.

“There’s widespread confusion among consumers about egg labelling due to the failure of the federal government to properly regulate egg labels.”

Wells also highlights that due to the increasingly conscientious buying climate, companies are able to easily misrepresent their product, and therefore mislead consumers.

He continued: “Unfortunately, the lack of labelling regulations allows egg producers to mislead consumers with undefined terms like ‘natural,’ ‘cage-free’, and ‘free range’, or with slogans and imagery depicting idyllic scenarios that do not match the cruel reality of life for most laying hens.”

From this, we can understand the importance of accurate packaging to ensure customers are not being misled to think they are purchasing cruelty-free products.