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A class action lawsuit accusing General Mills Inc. of falsely advertising its Nature Valley granola bars as “all natural” was dismissed Friday after the judge presiding over the case found the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate how they were deceived by this statement when the artificial ingredients were listed in the product label.
Minnesota federal judge Michael J. Davis dismissed the Nature Valley class action lawsuit (Chin, et al. v. General Mills Inc.) on May 31, 2013, after siding with General Mills’ argument that it didn’t fraudulently misrepresent the products because their labels listed the offending ingredients.
Plaintiffs Tracie Chin and Salvatore Montalbano claimed the Nature Valley granola bars were deceptively advertised as all-natural because they contained highly processed ingredients and sugar substitutes such as high fructose corn syrup and high maltose corn syrup, as well as the texturizer maltodextrin.
Judge Davis said they failed to show how they were deceived by the “100% Natural” statement.
“Plaintiffs have not alleged with any specificity what they believed ‘100% Natural’ to mean. Plaintiffs make several statements regarding ingredients that are ‘highly processed,’ but fail to plead what they understood this term to mean and how it does or does not relate to the ‘100% Natural’ statement,” Davis said in his Order.
The ruling comes just weeks after a California federal judge refused to let General Mills escape a similar class action lawsuit there.
In Janney, et al. v. General Mills, U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton denied General Mills’ motion to dismiss the Nature Valley class action lawsuit based on its argument that the FDA should decide if its “natural” label claims are deceptive, and not the courts.
Judge Hamilton said the FDA’s repeated failure to take a stance on the “natural” issue in other class action lawsuits signaled a lack of interest by the agency in devoting its limited resources to what it evidently considers a minor issue. Therefore, referring the case to the FDA “would likely prove futile,” she said.
The California Nature Valley Granola Bar Class Action Lawsuit case is Judith Janney, et al. v. General Mills, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
The dismissed Minnesota case is Chin, et al. v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 12-cv-02150, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
UPDATE: On Nov. 7, 2014, General Mills reportedly agreed to settle four Nature Valley class action lawsuits and will no longer include the allegedly misleading “natural” labels on its products.
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2 thoughts onMinnesota Judge Dismisses Nature Valley Granola Bar Class Action Lawsuit
I have purchased many boxes of the natural valley bars and I wish to be compensated for half of the boxes I have bought. I do not have any of those receipts, because I never thought there was going to be any problems with this product
I have been a faithful customer to buying these bars for years. I am very disappointed when I saw this clas action.
UPDATE: On Nov. 7, 2014, General Mills reportedly agreed to settle four Nature Valley class action lawsuits and will no longer include the allegedly misleading “natural” labels on its products.