LaCroix
LaCroix is under fire.
- LaCroix is defending itself against a class-action lawsuit that claims the sparkling-water brand uses artificial ingredients.
- The lawsuit alleges that LaCroix contains the same ingredients used in a cockroach insecticide. However, while that may be true, it doesn't mean that LaCroix is dangerous or uses artificial flavors.
- "Please stand with us as we defend our beloved LaCroix," the brand tweeted on Friday.
LaCroix is defending itself against a class-action lawsuit claiming that the sparkling water brand is not, in fact, all natural.
"We've heard your comments and want to address all the misleading allegations," the brand tweeted on Friday. "LaCroix sparkling water is a healthy beverage. All ingredients in LaCroix are natural. Allegations that claim otherwise are false and trouble us much as they trouble you."
"Please stand with us as we defend our beloved LaCroix," the brand said in a follow-up tweet.
Last week, a class-action lawsuit was filed against LaCroix's parent company, Natural Beverages, claiming that the brand's all-natural claims are false and that its ingredients are actually synthetic.
"In fact, as the filing states, testing reveals that LaCroix contains a number of artificial ingredients, including linalool, which is used in cockroach insecticide," the law firm Beaumont Costales said in a statement about the suit.
Natural Beverages has categorically denied all accusations. And, experts seem to think that the case doesn't have much of a scientific basis.
Beaumont Costales' argument essentially rests on the fact that these ingredients - which can be derived naturally - are also listed by the Food and Drug Administration as synthetic and can be used for some unappetizing purposes, like in insecticides. Popular Science breaks down why the argument doesn't seem to hold up, noting that none of the ingredients mentioned in the case are considered dangerous.
"Whether a substance is 'natural' or 'synthetic' should not be a health issue," Roger Clemens, an expert in food and regulatory science at the University of Southern California, told Popular Science. "It's all about safety as assessed by experts in nutrition, food science, food toxicology, and medicine."
Just because an ingredient is used in insecticides doesn't mean it is poisonous or dangerous. For example, sodium is used to de-ice planes, but it is also featured in many recipes in the form of table salt.
While it's unlikely they are dangerous, there is still some confusion over what exactly LaCroix means when it refers to "natural essences." Experts say that it is almost certainly condensed vapors produced by heating items such as fruit and vegetable skins or rinds at high temperatures.
"The flavors are derived from the natural essence oils extracted from the named fruit used in each of our LaCroix flavors. There are no sugars or artificial ingredients contained in, nor added to, these extracted flavors," LaCroix's website states.