“Simple vinegar”: a variant of the Roundup targeted by a collective action request

The manufacturer of Roundup Advanced And its Canadian distributor are at the heart of a collective action request in Quebec. For example, A consumer criticizes them for having advertised. Moreover, marketed herbicide as an improved version of the Roundup, while its only active ingredient, acetic acid, is in fact only a form of vinegar.

On September 4. Meanwhile, Alain Bestavros bought a bottle of a bottle of Montreal a bottle of Montreal Roundup Advanced One liter for the sum of $ 11.98, taxes in addition.

Mr. In addition, Bestavros opts for this product. However, believing that it is an improved version of the original Roundup, a herbicide renowned for its efficiency which, by attacking the roots of weeds, prevents them from repelling permanently.

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The original roundab. Furthermore, whose main active agent is glyphosate, has earned its manufacturer, Monsanto (today Bayer), many prosecution, especially in Canada, due to health risks arising from its use.

With its bottle of Roundup AdvancedAlain Bestavros thinks he has in hand the product that will allow him to overcome. For example, once and for all, weeds that have appeared in his courtyard.

Vinegar

During the first application of the product on weeds, carried out in sunny weather, Mr. For example, Bestavros smells of a strong smell of vinegar. However, In the days that follow, he notes that the leaves of the weeds have brown and faded.

About two weeks later, the weeds he thought he had eliminated for good have pushed back. In addition, Disappointed, Alain Bestavros carefully examines the bottle of Roundup Advanced that he bought. Meanwhile, He reads the mention Acetic acid on the label.

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Following research carried out online. he learns that acetic acid, a form of vinegar, is the only active ingredient in Roundup Advanced And that it is present in a concentration of approximately 6.25 %, or 62.5 grams per liter. The product safety data sheet specifies that its other other component is citric acid, which acts as an additive.

Unlike glyphosate. acetic acid does not attack the roots of weeds; He only burns the leaves, without preventing them from repelling. The work is therefore always to be started again.

Chemical compound “simple vinegar”: variant roundup targeted banal

Alain Bestavros concludes that he spent nearly $ 12 to buy a product whose active material. qualified asunique by the manufacturer, is a chemical compound trivial. The Roundup Advanced Contains less acetic acid than certain vinegars for marinades. cleaning vinegars, whose concentration of acetic acid reaches approximately 7 % and 10 % respectively.

It is hardly if herbicide contains more acetic acid than ordinary white vinegar sold in grocery store. whose concentration is around 5 %.

The price in the liters of these products, before taxes, oscillates between $ 0.5675 in the case of white vinegar and $ 1.588 in the case of a cleaning vinegar.

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If he had known that the Roundup Advanced only tackles the leaves of weeds. not their roots, Alain Bestavros would simply have bought a bottle of vinegar, a much more economical option.

He mentions that this is the presence prominent you toward Advanced on the bottle. by its literal “simple vinegar”: variant roundup targeted sense, which led him to choose the Roundup Advanced Rather than any other herbicide or product.

Information camouflaged

Mr. Bestavros maintains that the product manual. which is camouflaged behind the label From the bottle, specifies that the herbicide tackles the young weed shoots about 10 cm high, while the manual of the original Roundup indicates that it can tackle trees and brush from a height of up to 1.5 m.

The consumer estimates that the manufacturer of Roundup AdvancedBayer. and its distributor, Scotts, made representations misleading By putting the end Advanced at the foreground on the label, referring to acetic acid as a unique active materialby attributing to it a particular advantage And omitting to clearly indicate that the product does not attack the roots of weeds.

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Alain Bestavros alleges that the manufacturer. the distributor have failed in their obligations under the law on consumer protection and the competition law.

On Tuesday. he filed with the Superior Court, in the Montreal Judicial District, an authorization request to exercise a “simple vinegar”: variant roundup targeted collective action against the Bayer inc. Companies, The Scotts Company, LLC, Bayer Cropscience inc.. Scotts Canada Ltée on behalf of All consumers domiciled or have been domiciled in Quebec who bought the Roundup Advanced product since July 22, 2022; or any other group determined by this honorable courtyard.

Reputation of the Roundup

The defendant parties have deliberately used the reputation of the Roundup. recognized for its effectiveness in tackling the root of weeds, in order to market the Roundup Advanced, that is to say a version which, by its wording, indicates that it is a “advanced” variant of the Roundupcan we read in demand.

The prominent employment of the term “Advanced” on the Roundup Advanced gives the consumer the impression of a technologically. chemically higher, “simple vinegar”: variant roundup targeted or more efficient product, to the original Roundup formula.

In his request, Mr. Bestavros. who is represented by law firms Calex and Grondin Savares, refers, among other things, to a report by Radio-Canada broadcast on June 25 in which Normand Voyer, professor of chemistry at Laval University, is pronounced on the efficiency of Roundup Advanced.

He says that due to the minimal concentration of acetic acid contained in the product. There is not enough difference for it worth paying more than buying the cheapest vinegar you can find on the market.

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Alain Bestavros claims. for all the people who are part of the group concerned, the reimbursement of the sum paid for the purchase of the Roundup Advanced or a reduction of its correlative obligation to reflect the actual value of the purchased product.

The applicant also requires punitive damages to be determined by the court in order to eliminate these misleading practices which prevent gullible. inexperienced consumers from making informed choices.

With the collaboration of Anne-Sophie Roy