Photo : Randy Shropshire ( Getty Images )

When news of a woman’s lawsuit against LaCroix over its “all-natural” ingredients came to light earlier this month, I lamented a lack of science and reason in the ensuing debate. But we now have some objective findings to discuss, rather than just marketing claims and deliberately frightening headlines about “cockroach insecticides.”


According to a press release posted to BevNet from LaCroix’s parent company, Natural Beverage Corp., the ingredients in its sparkling water have been confirmed “derived from natural sources” by a certified, independent laboratory. The company says the unnamed laboratory is accredited by the International Standards Organization, and employed the “rigorous standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials” to “conclusively prove” that LaCroix contains no trace of artificial or synthetic ingredients.

LaCroix has been vocally defending itself against the lawsuit, which claims that “LaCroix contains a number of artificial ingredients, including linalool, which is used in cockroach insecticide.” (Linanool, it should be noted, does occur in nature, via plant terpenes.) In two forceful statements, National Beverage Corp. called the allegations “false, defamatory and intended to intentionally damage National Beverage and its shareholders” and said that “attention to these charges is an enormous disservice to those who drink and appreciate LaCroix sparkling water.”


For those who believe the pesticide allegations, LaCroix’s failure to name the specific lab that conducted the testing might feel a bit shady. For those who think the lawsuit is nonsense, the results of said testing likely give them comfort as they shotgun another Pamplemousse.