By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN) must face a proposed class action claiming its labels failed to disclose the alleged presence of arsenic in some of its baby food.
U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison in Brooklyn said parents plausibly alleged that some of Hain's Earth's Best Baby Food products (TADAWUL:2100) exceeded "recognized safe thresholds" for arsenic, and that this would be material to reasonable shoppers deciding whether to pay extra for healthy, safe food for their children.
In her decision on Friday, Morrison dismissed similar claims over the alleged presence in baby food of other "heavy metals" including lead, cadmium and mercury, finding no clear benchmark at which their presence would be unsafe for children.
Shares of Hain fell as much as 7.2% on Monday.
In seeking a dismissal, the Hoboken, New Jersey-based company said the parents lacked standing to sue because they could not show harm to themselves or their children.
Hain also said the parents did not plausibly allege its labeling was misleading, and that heavy metals "unavoidably" exist in ingredients that grow in soil or water.
Neither Hain nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment on Monday. Lawyers for the parents did not immediately respond to similar requests.
The lawsuit is one of many accusing baby food producers of concealing toxic levels of heavy metals in baby food.
Defendants in similar nationwide litigation in San Francisco federal court include Beech-Nut, Nestle (NS:NEST)'s Gerber, Danone (EPA:DANO)'s Nurture and Walmart (NYSE:WMT), as well as Hain. They have also denied that their baby food is unsafe.
Parents sued after a 2021 report by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on economic and consumer policy said "dangerous" levels of heavy metals in some baby food could cause neurological damage.
The case is In re Hain Celestial Heavy Metals Baby Food Litigation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 21-00678.