Loblaws, Metro and Sobey's were 'betraying their customers’ trust by selling bogus maple syrup, new class-action lawsuit claims

For those of us who take deep national pride in our quintessential export, the allegations touch a sensitive cultural nerve. Canada produces the vast majority of the world’s maple syrup supply, and strict regulations govern the purity of the national staple.

Allegations expand to target major retail chains

The legal challenge was initially launched in April by plaintiff Maude Fraser-Jodoin. That original application named only the producer, Saint-Chrysostome, Que.-based Érablière Steve Bourdeau, as a defendant.

However, an amended court filing submitted earlier this month by the law firm Slater Vecchio added the nation’s grocery giants to the action. The suit claims the supermarket chains displayed “negligence, recklessness, carelessness, or serious indifference” by putting the compromised product onto store shelves across Canada.

According to the newer filing, the retailers failed to perform basic checks on products carrying significant price discounts compared to genuine maple syrup.

“The grocery stores should have exercised caution and due diligence before offering this ‘pure’ maple syrup for sale at a low price, given the disparity with the value of other products,” the court document states. “They should even have suspected that the disputed syrup was tampered with after it went on sale, in light of the available information.”

Investigative report revealed diluted cans

The legal proceedings stem from an April investigative report by Radio-Canada. Laboratory testing on cans of syrup purchased at a local grocery store revealed that product labelled as pure maple syrup was actually composed of at least 50% cane sugar.

In the report, the producer’s owner, Steve Bourdeau, also allegedly acknowledged buying syrup from Ontario and mislabelling it as a “product of Quebec” in violation of provincial regulations.

Financial remedies and punitive damages sought

The lawsuit targets sales dating back to Oct. 5, 2010, suggesting the group of affected consumers could number in the thousands or potentially millions.