Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether consumers who purchased Bragg salad dressings marketed as made with avocado oil received products containing the type of oil represented on their labels.
Bragg is a nationally recognized health-food brand that sells salad dressings and other products emphasizing particular ingredients and nutritional attributes. Consumers purchasing avocado-oil dressings may specifically choose these products because they prefer avocado oil to conventional vegetable oils and are willing to pay a premium for that ingredient.
Bragg was among the brands included in a 2026 University of California, Davis study examining the authenticity of avocado oil used in processed foods.
Researchers tested 54 commercially available chips, mayonnaises, and salad dressings whose labels identified avocado oil as their only oil ingredient.
They found that 48 of the 54 avocado-oil products tested—89%—had oil compositions inconsistent with authentic avocado oil.
The results for salad dressings were especially significant: all 12 avocado-oil salad-dressing samples tested were inconsistent with the researchers’ criteria for authentic avocado oil.
Why Consumers May Have Been Misled
Consumers purchasing an avocado-oil salad dressing may reasonably expect authentic avocado oil to be the oil contained in the product when the ingredient list identifies avocado oil as the only oil.
That representation may be particularly important to consumers who:
- intentionally purchase products made with avocado oil;
- seek to avoid soybean, canola, sunflower, or other vegetable oils;
- rely on ingredient labels when making dietary decisions;
- perceive avocado oil as a premium ingredient; or
- pay more for avocado-oil dressing than conventional salad dressing.
If a dressing represented avocado oil as its only oil ingredient while containing an oil composition materially inconsistent with authentic avocado oil, consumers may have paid a premium for a product different from what its labeling suggested.
All Avocado Oil Dressings Tested Failed the UC Davis Criteria
UC Davis researchers extracted oil from finished foods and analyzed its fatty-acid and sterol composition.
Because manufacturing processes could potentially alter those chemical fingerprints, the researchers separately evaluated the effects of processing. They found only minimal changes in the important avocado-oil authenticity markers.
Researchers also allowed a 10% margin for natural variation among authentic avocado oils.
Despite these allowances, all 12 avocado-oil salad-dressing samples tested were inconsistent with authentic avocado oil.
The study does not necessarily establish that individual manufacturers knowingly used adulterated oil. Researchers have stated that adulteration may originate with suppliers or intermediaries farther up the supply chain.
However, consumers ultimately may have purchased products whose finished oil composition did not correspond with what they understood the ingredient labels to promise.
We Are Interested in Hearing From Consumers Who
- purchased Bragg salad dressing marketed as made with avocado oil;
- chose the dressing because avocado oil appeared on its label;
- relied on avocado oil being identified as the only oil ingredient;
- specifically sought to avoid other vegetable or seed oils;
- paid a premium for the product;
- purchased Bragg avocado-oil dressing repeatedly;
- still have bottles showing a UPC, expiration date, or lot code;
- have receipts, photographs, or online purchase records; or
- would have paid less—or purchased another dressing—had they known the oil might not match the product’s representations.
Please retain any bottles or packaging you still have. Lot numbers, expiration dates, UPCs, and purchase dates may help determine which products and production runs were involved.
If you purchased Bragg salad dressing marketed as made with avocado oil and believe you may not have received what you paid for, please contact Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.
There is no charge to speak with us, and there is no obligation to take legal action.
Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or call us at (202) 470-3520.
Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that represents consumers in class-action litigation nationwide.