An environmental justice activist group has filed suit against a collection of seafood sellers, accusing them of improperly labeling their products as "organic" when they are allegedly not allowed to do so by California state law.
On March 7, the Environmental Democracy Project (EDP) filed a lawsuit against a number of seafood sellers. The defendants include Legal Sea Foods Restaurant Group Inc., PPX Hospitality Holdings, LP, Citarella Operating, LLC, Cooke Seafood, Inc., and several others.
The EDP argues that the demand for organic food products is at an all-time high, with sales topping 60 billion dollars in the United States in 2022. However, they claim that these companies are taking advantage of this demand by mislabeling their seafood products as "organic".
The lawsuit alleges that under the California Organic Food and Farming Act (COFFA), seafood sellers are prohibited to label aquaculture, fish or seafood products as "organic" unless specific certification standards have been enacted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the California Department of Food and Agriculture. To date, neither department has issued such certification standards, according to the complaint.
The EDP is seeking an injunction to remedy these violations and ensure that the defendants comply with COFFA.
They are also seeking an award of costs and attorney fees.
They are represented by attorneys Patrick R. Carey and Jacob Janzen, of Lexington Law Group, of San Francisco.