Lewis said the unit of PepsiCo Inc actually puts the juice through extensive processing, adding aromas and flavors that change its “essential nature” and give it a longer shelf life.
This deception lets Tropicana charge more than rivals and helps fuel more than $5 billion of annual sales worldwide, according to Lewis, who lives in Vacaville, about 55 miles northeast of San Francisco.
“While Tropicana claims that ‘making Tropicana orange juice is truly an art’ it is far more a science,” said the complaint filed on Friday in Sacramento, California. “The resulting product does not taste like fresh squeezed orange juice.”
Tropicana’s website says Pure Premium has 16 fresh-picked oranges squeezed into each 59-ounce container.
The case is Lewis v. Tropicana Products Inc, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, No. 12-00049.
