US firm Tula Foods has filed a lawsuit against grocer Kroger and flavour supplier Weber Flavors, alleging the firms knowingly failed to follow production specifications when manufacturing yoghurt on its behalf.
As well as operating a chain of supermarkets in the US, Kroger runs a manufacturing business, Inter-American Products, that produces packaged foods outsourced to it by other companies.
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Tula’s complaint centres on its Better Whey of Life Greek yoghurt. “Kroger knew it was failing to meet Tula’s production specifications, but released poor-quality, unappetising yoghurt into the market anyway,” it said.
According to Tula, the retailer then tried to cover its tracks by “hiding the manufacturing data necessary to discover Kroger’s wrongdoing”.
Tula is also sueing Weber, an Illinois-based flavour supply company, for failing to properly treat and process the vanilla bean base it supplied for Tula’s yoghurt. This failure, the company claimed, resulted in it having to recall products.
“The actions of Kroger and Weber would have significantly harmed any yogurt producer, but they were particularly devastating for Tula because retailers and consumers were just getting to know and love the Better Whey of Life brand,” Tula suggested in its complaint.
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By GlobalDataNeither Kroger nor Tula could not be immediately reached for comment.
