Published
October 12, 2026
People in the U.S. who bought Primal Kitchen Real Mayonnaise, Avocado Oil and Vinegar Vinaigrette & Marinade, or Italian Dressing & Marinade may be covered by a proposed class action alleging Primal Nutrition, LLC and The Kraft Heinz Company sell the products as “Made With Avocado Oil” when they contain undisclosed seed oils. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Primal Nutrition, LLC and The Kraft Heinz Company have not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Primal Nutrition, LLC and The Kraft Heinz Company face a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California over three Primal Kitchen products sold with a “Made With Avocado Oil” claim. The case, Raphael v. Primal Nutrition, LLC, No. 2:26-cv-11357, was filed September 30, 2026 by the firm KalielGold PLLC. It is not a settlement: there is no fund, no administrator, no claim form and no deadline.The complaint alleges that the mayonnaise and two dressings, whose labels present avocado oil as their only oil, contain undisclosed seed oils such as canola, corn, soybean or sunflower oil. It rests that allegation on a peer-reviewed study published by University of California, Davis food scientists in July 2026, which the complaint says tested two production lots of each product and classified every sample as inconsistent with authentic avocado oil. None of this has been proven, and the defendants have not been found liable.
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Status
Complaint Filed
filed September 30, 2026 in the C.D. Cal. · allegations only · no settlement
What’s Alleged
“Made With Avocado Oil” Labels on Products the Complaint Says Contain Seed Oils
the complaint relies on a July 2026 UC Davis study it says found every tested sample inconsistent with authentic avocado oil
Products
Three Primal Kitchen Products
Real Mayonnaise Made With Avocado Oil · Avocado Oil and Vinegar Vinaigrette & Marinade · Italian Dressing & Marinade Made with Avocado Oil
Can I Claim?
No — Nothing to File Yet
complaint stage only; no settlement fund and no payout available
What the Labels Say, According to the Complaint
The complaint names three products, all sold under the Primal Kitchen brand: Real Mayonnaise Made With Avocado Oil, Avocado Oil and Vinegar Vinaigrette & Marinade, and Italian Dressing & Marinade Made with Avocado Oil. It describes the front of the packaging as carrying “Made With Avocado Oil” in bold type inside a bright green banner beside a large picture of an avocado, and reproduces the front label of the mayonnaise as an example.According to the complaint, the back label reinforces that claim: the ingredient list names avocado oil as the only oil, and the packaging nowhere says the products contain any other oil. The named plaintiff argues that the two together tell shoppers avocado oil is the sole oil in the product, which is what buyers paying more to avoid seed oils are looking for. The complaint alleges the representations are materially identical across all three products.
The named plaintiff, a Los Angeles resident, says she bought the mayonnaise from a third-party seller on July 9, 2026 after reading the front-label claim and the ingredient list. She alleges she would not have bought it, or would have paid less, had she known it contained other oils.
What the Complaint Says the UC Davis Study Found
The study the complaint relies on, “Authenticity of avocado and olive oils used as ingredients in commercially processed foods,” was published in the journal Applied Food Research in July 2026 by researchers in UC Davis’s Department of Food Science and Technology. As the complaint describes it, the team bought chips, mayonnaises and salad dressings that declared a single oil, avocado or olive, from online retailers and California stores in 2025 and 2026, and tested two separate production lots of each of 37 products in duplicate.According to the complaint, the researchers extracted the oil from each sample and compared its fatty acid and plant sterol profile, the chemical markers used to identify an oil, with the ranges in the Codex Alimentarius standards for named vegetable oils and for olive oils. The complaint says the study allowed for natural variation: a sample with a single marker no more than 10% outside the limits still counted as consistent, and a sample was classified as inconsistent only when it showed multiple deviations or a pattern that did not fit the reference profile. The complaint adds that the researchers tested whether frying and emulsification could shift those markers and found only minor changes, too small to explain the deviations.
The complaint alleges that both lots of all three Primal Kitchen products, listed in the study as samples 41 and 42, 43 and 44, and 61 and 62, were classified as inconsistent with authentic avocado oil, and that their profiles instead resembled lower-cost refined oils such as canola, corn, soybean or sunflower oil. Across the study, the complaint says, 48 of 54 avocado oil-labeled samples were classified as inconsistent, including 71% of mayonnaise samples and every salad dressing sample, compared with 1 of 20 olive oil-labeled samples.
The complaint also cites two earlier UC Davis studies, from 2020 and 2023, which it says found that at least 82% of commercial bottled avocado oils and 70% of private-label avocado oils were rancid or mixed with other oils. It uses that history to argue the defendants knew or should have known the labeling was likely to mislead. These are the complaint’s descriptions of the research, and the findings have not been tested in this case.
What the Lawsuit Claims Primal Nutrition and Kraft Heinz Violated
The complaint’s theory is economic. It argues that shoppers choose avocado oil products over seed oil products for health reasons and pay more to do so, citing the study’s price survey: avocado oil mayonnaise ran $0.30 to $1.63 per ounce, against $0.24 to $0.75 for vegetable oil mayonnaise. The named plaintiff alleges that she and other buyers would not have bought the products, or would have paid substantially less, had the labels disclosed other oils.The complaint pleads five counts. Three are California statutes: the Unfair Competition Law, the False Advertising Law, and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The fourth is breach of express warranty under the California Commercial Code, on the theory that “Made With Avocado Oil” and the ingredient list were promises that became part of the bargain. The fifth is unjust enrichment, brought for the proposed nationwide class; the first four are brought for a California subclass.
Under the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, the complaint says the plaintiff’s lawyers sent the defendants a written notice by certified mail identifying the alleged violations, and that for now the plaintiff seeks only public injunctive relief on that count. The complaint does not give the date of that letter.
Questions the Case Is Likely to Turn On
The complaint, as filed, contains no response from Primal Nutrition or Kraft Heinz, and neither company has been found liable. Several questions running through the avocado oil cases are likely to matter here. One is whether a study that tested two production lots of each product can support a claim about everything sold under those labels during the class period. Another is whether a reasonable shopper reads “Made With Avocado Oil” as a promise that avocado oil is the only oil; the complaint answers that by pairing the front-label claim with an ingredient list that names no other oil. A third is whether, and by how much, buyers actually paid more because of the claim.The complaint also quotes the head of an oil-certification group, who describes the problem as suppliers failing to test for seed oil adulteration while the brand is still the one standing behind the label claim. The complaint does not allege where in the supply chain any other oil entered the products. Its Unfair Competition Law count says no proof of intent is needed under that statute.
Other brands named in the same study face their own suits, including Chosen Foods over its avocado oil mayonnaise and dressings; those cases are described on OCA’s Chosen Foods avocado oil lawsuit page.
Who Would Be Covered
The complaint proposes a nationwide class of everyone in the United States who bought the products for personal use, rather than for resale or distribution, within the applicable statute of limitations, and a California subclass of people who bought them in California during the same period. It does not give a fixed start date. The defendants, their affiliates, officers, directors and employees and their immediate families, and the judge and court staff are excluded.The complaint asserts that aggregate claims exceed $5 million, the threshold for federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act, and reserves the right to change the class definitions. No class has been certified, which means no court has decided whether the case can proceed on behalf of anyone other than the named plaintiff.
What the Lawsuit Seeks
The complaint asks the court to certify the proposed classes, appoint the named plaintiff and her lawyers to represent them, declare the conduct unlawful, and bar the challenged labeling on behalf of the general public. It also seeks restitution and disgorgement, actual damages, prejudgment interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs, and it demands a jury trial. These are requests rather than awards; nothing has been ordered and no money is available.What Happens Next?
The case is at its earliest stage. In proposed food-labeling class actions, a defendant’s first response is commonly a motion to dismiss. If a case survives that stage, the parties exchange evidence in discovery before the court decides whether to certify a class. Many proposed consumer class actions are dismissed, narrowed or settled before any payout, and there is no guarantee this one produces a recovery.The suit is one of a series of proposed class actions filed against avocado oil brands since the UC Davis study appeared, listed on OCA’s avocado oil class action lawsuit tracker. Most target chips. The closest parallels are the Chosen Foods case, which also challenges mayonnaise and dressings, and the Sir Kensington’s avocado oil mayo case; products from both brands were among those the study tested.
Do I Need to Do Anything Right Now?
There is nothing to file. No settlement, claim form, fund or deadline exists, and no class has been certified. If the case later produces a settlement or judgment, a court-approved notice would explain who qualifies and what a claim requires.Questions
Is there a Primal Kitchen avocado oil settlement or claim form?
There is not. This is a newly filed complaint, not a settlement. There is no fund, no administrator, no claim form and no deadline, and there is no guarantee the case ever produces a payment.
Which Primal Kitchen products are named in the lawsuit?
Three: Real Mayonnaise Made With Avocado Oil, Avocado Oil and Vinegar Vinaigrette & Marinade, and Italian Dressing & Marinade Made with Avocado Oil. The complaint does not name any other Primal Kitchen products.
What does the lawsuit say the UC Davis study found about Primal Kitchen?
According to the complaint, the study tested two production lots of each of the three products and classified every sample as inconsistent with authentic avocado oil, with fatty acid and sterol profiles closer to cheaper refined oils such as canola, corn, soybean or sunflower oil. These are the complaint’s descriptions of the study, and its findings have not been tested in court.
Does the lawsuit say the products contain no avocado oil at all?
The complaint argues it both ways. At a minimum, it alleges the products contain far more seed oil than avocado oil; at most, it alleges the oil is so different from authentic avocado oil that the products cannot be said to contain any. Either way, its core claim is that avocado oil is not the only oil, as the labels and ingredient lists present it.
Why is Kraft Heinz named in the Primal Kitchen lawsuit?
The complaint names The Kraft Heinz Company alongside Primal Nutrition, LLC and alleges that the two companies together manufacture, label, market and sell the products. It describes Primal Nutrition as a company based in California and Kraft Heinz as a Delaware corporation based in Illinois, but does not describe the corporate relationship between them.
Does anything need to be done to be part of the Primal Kitchen lawsuit?
Nothing is required at this stage because there is no claim process. If the case settles or a class is certified, a court-approved notice would explain who is included, what a claim requires and any deadlines.
Sources
• Class Action Complaint, Raphael v. Primal Nutrition, LLC, No. 2:26-cv-11357 (C.D. Cal. filed Sept. 30, 2026) — complaint (PDF) via CourtListener.• Docket, Raphael v. Primal Nutrition, LLC, on CourtListener.
• Lopez-Alvarez et al., “Authenticity of avocado and olive oils used as ingredients in commercially processed foods,” Applied Food Research (2026), as cited and described in the complaint — journal record.
• Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq. (Unfair Competition Law) and 17500 et seq. (False Advertising Law); Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq. (Consumers Legal Remedies Act); Cal. Com. Code § 2313 (express warranties).
About This Page
This page summarizes the class action complaint in Raphael v. Primal Nutrition, LLC, No. 2:26-cv-11357 (C.D. Cal.). OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news and information site, not a law firm, and is not affiliated with the plaintiff’s counsel, Primal Nutrition, LLC or The Kraft Heinz Company. The allegations have not been proven in court. This article is general information about the case. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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Status
Complaint Filed — Allegations Only
Case Title
Raphael v. Primal Nutrition, LLC
Case Number
2:26-cv-11357
Court
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Date Filed
September 30, 2026
Defendants
Primal Nutrition, LLC; The Kraft Heinz Company
Products
Primal Kitchen Real Mayonnaise Made With Avocado Oil; Avocado Oil and Vinegar Vinaigrette & Marinade; Italian Dressing & Marinade Made with Avocado Oil
Claims
California UCL, FAL and CLRA; breach of express warranty; unjust enrichment
Class Status
Proposed nationwide class and California subclass — not certified
Read the Complaint (PDF)
Complaint on CourtListener
View the Docket on CourtListener
Raphael v. Primal Nutrition Docket
