It's not a tolerable joke for fish lovers when they find their tuna cans underfilled. That is why the brand Trader Joe's now faces a class-action lawsuit that claims the grocery chain is cheating buyers by not filling their 5-ounce cans of tuna in its full amount.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court that states Trader's Joe tuna brands is violating the federal mandated standard of fill for canned foods. It states that tests run by the government lab, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), found that cans of various Trader Joe's tuna brands contain less than 3 ounces of fish and that "every lot tested, and nearly every single can, was underfilled in violation of the federally mandated minimum standard of fill."
As reported by Fox News, one of the tests involved 24 cans of Trader Joe's Albacore Tuna in Water Half Salt which were found out to only contain 2.43 ounces of pressed cake tuna on average. This is 24.8 percent below the required 3.23 ounces. In the store's Albacore Tuna in Olive Oil Salt Added cans, 24 of which that were tested only had 2.87 ounces on average of the fish, which is 11.1 percent under the mandatory minimum.
The complaint further alleges that supplementary tests run by NOAA results for six other Trader Joe's tuna products. This amounts to breach of warranties, unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and violations of New York's consumer-protection statute. To this the plaintiffs involved stated how they feel harmed and injured in this discrepancy. Thus the complainants now seek class certification, declaratory judgment, compensatory and punitive damages, an injunction, attorney's fees and a jury trial as noted by Lexology.
A spokeswoman for the American chain that has more than 400 stores across the country, said in behalf of Trader Joe's that the company chooses to remain silent on pending litigation.
