Lawsuit Against Kroger’s ‘Farm Fresh’ Eggs Claim Dismissed

A judge in Chicago has dismissed a lawsuit brought against The Kroger Co. regarding its use of the phrase “farm fresh” to describe its eggs that were produced in an industrial environment. U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras ruled that the grocer’s use of the phrase was indeed not misleading to reasonable consumers.

Plaintiff Adam Sorkin purchased “farm fresh” eggs under the Roundy's brand at a Mariano's Fresh Market store, and claimed that he would not have purchased them or would have chosen to pay less had he known where they actually came from. Judge Kocoras disagreed with the claim, stating that “farm fresh” did not necessarily mean that the hends producing the eggs were "living on farms, with open green space, grass, hay and straw."

"The court agrees with Kroger that no reasonable consumer would plausibly spin free-roaming hens on a grassy, open field from the term 'farm fresh,'" Kocoras wrote, also adding that "'Farm Fresh Eggs' means precisely what it says: the eggs are fresh from a farm. It is about origin and timing, nothing more."