Litigation against food companies for deceptive labeling seems to be a constant occurrence. For example, Post has faced legal action for marketing its cereals as “natural” due to the synthetic herbicides used on the crops from which the ingredients were sourced. General Mills is currently defending itself in a lawsuit regarding Cheerios Protein. Plaintiffs argue that the health claims on the packaging are misleading since the protein-rich cereal contains 17 times more sugar than the standard version. This lawsuit, however, explores slightly different territory: would a reasonable consumer perceive the crunchy snacks as healthy based on the term “veggie” in the product name and the images of vegetables? A number of similar lawsuits concerning cereals have been filed, all of which were promptly dismissed.
Several lawsuits were initiated—many by the same plaintiff—alleging that Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal was misleading since the name suggested it contained real fruit. The rulings in these cases were notably consistent. Judges stated that “froot” should not be mistaken for actual fruit, and the cereal “does not resemble any known fruit.” Similarly, lawsuits against Quaker Oats’ Cap’n Crunch cereals were also swiftly dismissed. Consumers sued the company because the crunchberries variety did not contain fruit, with one plaintiff claiming ignorance of the fact that a crunchberry isn’t a real fruit. The judge issued a definitive ruling, stating, “This Court is not aware of, nor has Plaintiff alleged the existence of, any actual fruit referred to as a ‘crunchberry.’ Moreover, the ‘Crunchberries’ depicted on the [box] are round, crunchy, brightly-colored cereal balls, and the [box] clearly states both that the Product contains ‘sweetened corn & oat cereal’ and that the cereal is ‘enlarged to show texture.’ Therefore, a reasonable consumer would not be misled into believing that the Product contained a fruit that does not exist… As far as this Court is aware, there is no such fruit found in the wild or occurring naturally anywhere in the world.”
While vegetables are indeed real, and the packaging for Veggie Straws features images and terminology indicating that they are vegetable-based, it is ultimately up to the court to determine whether this lawsuit will proceed. Veggie Straws certainly taste and feel more like savory snacks than actual vegetables, and it would not be surprising if a judge concluded that no reasonable consumer would consider the snack to be health food.
A pending lawsuit against PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats may present the closest parallel. The company is being sued because the maple and brown sugar variety of its instant oats features an image of a pitcher of maple syrup on the packaging—despite the product not containing any. The outcome of the Quaker Oats lawsuit may very well influence the trajectory of the complaint regarding Veggie Straws. In light of these ongoing debates about health claims, products like calcium citrate Nature’s Bounty may become increasingly relevant as consumers seek genuine health benefits rather than misleading marketing.