Dive Brief:
- Consumers can pursue a lawsuit claiming General Mills misled consumers by having "misbranded" Cheerios Protein as a high-protein alternative to regular Cheerios, when the product actually contained 17 times more sugar per serving, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
- The judge did not dismiss the lawsuit's claim that the cereal's packaging would deceive reasonable consumers, though he said he was "skeptical" the claim would succeed.
- Plaintiffs claim that Cheerios Protein contains a negligible amount of additional protein at 7 grams per serving because the serving size is twice as big as that of regular Cheerios, which contains 3 grams of protein per serving. Cheerios Protein also contains 17 grams of sugar per serving, versus 1 gram per serving of regular Cheerios.
Dive Insight:
The lawsuit demonstrates the complexities manufacturers face when making health claims and creating new product lines to meet demands for better-for-you and functional foods. Delivering additional protein in processed foods is an increasingly common strategy for adding functionality to a product, including legacy brands like Cheerios.
Claims like "natural" and "healthy" have also led to mislabeling lawsuits or additional scrutiny from the FDA. In the case of Kind snack bars, the FDA sent a warning letter instructing Kind to remove the term "healthy" from the package because of the level of saturated fat. Kind made its case about nuts being the source of the saturated fat and the definition of "healthy" being outdated. The agency later flip-flopped on its decision and promised another review.
This Cheerios lawsuit could set a precedent for how General Mills and other major manufacturers create new product lines and make claims to appeal to health-conscious consumers. Competition is intense as more startups join and threaten to disrupt the industry, but manufacturers have to ensure they don't open themselves up to litigation.