Are There Enough Strawberries in a Kellogg’s Strawberry Pop-Tart? A Court Might Decide

Food & Consumer Packaged Goods Litigation - 2020 Year In Review

The Courts Were Kind to the Food Industry This Summer

 to read the complaint filed against Kellogg's on October 19, 2021 

How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label

Lawsuits Over 'Misleading' Food Labels Surge as Groups Cite Lax U.S. Oversight

The Reasonable Consumer Defense: Vanilla Cases Show It’s Here to Stay in Food Litigation

A $5 million lawsuit over the amount of strawberries in Strawberry Pop-Tarts highlights a recent surge in cases against the food & beverage industry.

"The Product's common or usual name of 'Whole Grain Strawberry Toaster Pastries,' is false, deceptive, and misleading, because it contains mostly non-strawberry fruit ingredients

The 19-page complaint against Kellogg's, alleging their Strawberry Pop-Tarts contain more pears and apples than strawberries. The lawsuit claims the Pop-Tarts' name violates state consumer fraud laws - unlike their competitors' more "

" labeling, which states their strawberry pastries are "

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) & the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) regulate how food labels should be standardized. The FDA monitors labels for "

" The Federal Trade Commission monitors false advertising.

However, it is 

largely up to manufacturers to self-enforce food labeling laws

. In short, consumers are *mostly* reading information provided by the companies themselves.

"Various lawsuits recently have claimed that there is no real tuna in Subway tuna fish, that Honey Bunches of Oats is almost devoid of honey, and that Morning Star Farms Veggie Hot Dogs have almost no vegetables." 

Consumer lawyer Edgar Dworsky on the recent surge in food product labeling cases. In 2020, according to data collected by the law firm Perkins Coie, a record-breaking 220 lawsuits were filed against the food and beverage industry; half of those cases were for false labeling.

According to a recent report, the courts have been generally “kind” to the food industry, dismissing several lawsuits.

Recently, some cases were dismissed because of the "reasonable consumer" standard. 

In short, what would a "reasonable consumer" expect from this item, based on its price point and who makes it?

Laws appear more stringent on mislabeling the origins of a product rather than the relative quantity of listed ingredients.

Who polices "truth in advertising" laws across industries? The Federal Trade Commission. The Biden admin is moving through both the Federal Trade Commission and the FDA to address issues concerning exaggerated food and marketing claims. What will happen with the Kellogg's case? Consumer lawyer Dworsky says it is unlikely to succeed. Remember: Big companies like Kellogg's are likely to have outside legal counsel "fact checking" their labels to make sure they "cut the mustard."
 

what to know

Food Labels

Food label Fact Sheet from FTC

Are There Enough Strawberries in a Kellogg’s Strawberry Pop-Tart? A Court Might Decide (Wall Street Journal) 

Food & 

Quick. Concise. Nonpartisan.

Leah Jahn