Needham-based Grillo’s Pickles has a beef with the way the famous Wahlberg family’s namesake burger chain markets its pickles.
Wahlburgers is known best for its burgers and fries — as well as the Dorchester-bred family behind the company. However, it also sells packaged pickles as part of its grocery store lineup, marketing the pickles as “fresh,” “all natural,” and containing “no preservatives.”
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Grillo’s argues in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that Wahlburgers’ pickles do, in fact, have artificial preservatives. The company even conducted lab tests that it says proves the presence of “substantial amounts of benzoic acid,” a preservative.
That ingredient isn’t included on Wahlburgers’ pickle labels, Grillo’s says. Grillo's is hoping that a U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey will make an injunction ruling and approve damages for Grillo’s.
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"In positioning its products as 'fresh' and containing 'no preservatives,' our competitor is effectively duping consumers and retailers, especially those who are actively seeking all-natural food products with clean labels," Adam Kaufman, the Grillo's Pickles president, said in a statement. "Like our customers, we understand and value the importance of ingredient transparency."
