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The maker of the Similac Go & Grow toddler drink faces a class action lawsuit alleging the product is a marketing scheme that offers minimal nutritional benefit to children while maximizing sales for the company.
New York caretaker Giovanna Smith claims Abbott Laboratories fraudulently advertises its so-called “transition formulas” by claiming they’re suitable for toddlers and an appropriate next step in their development.
Smith says the Similac Go & Grow toddler drink, in particular, is essentially identical to infant formula.
She alleges Abbott Laboratories is adapting to a shift in how mothers are feeding their young children, citing findings from the American Academy of Pediatrics showing an increase in breastfeeding since 2003.
The resulting drop in infant formula sales, according to Smith, led Abbott Laboratories to do some rebranding, creating a “transition formula” category, including the Similac Go & Grow toddler drink.
Other products in this category are labeled as “follow-on formulas,” “weaning formulas,” “toddler milks” and “growing-up milks.”
As evidence of the branding effort, Smith points to U.S. Nielsen data between 2003 and 2015 that shows advertising on these transition formulas quadrupled.
The complaint further elaborates on Smith’s claims of how infant formula and the Similac Go & Grow toddler drink are the same by comparing the labels.
The label on the toddler drink doesn’t detail how it’s different, Smith said. Similac Go & Grow and the infant formulas are labeled similarly, with parallel design choices.
Smith goes further, claiming advertising on these products has created a false impression Similac Go & Grow is needed by growing children.
Smith cited research conducted by University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity that looked at public opinion on toddler formula products.
More than half — 52% — of those surveyed said they believed products like the Similac Go & Grow toddler drink provided children with nutrition not provided anywhere else. While 70% said these toddler formulas were suitable as a healthy food for the age group.
Smith contends while both these formulas are nearly identical in that they’re simply nutrient-added milk powder, toddlers have different needs.
“Public health research has shown that use of transition formulas such as Go & Grow Toddler Drink results in prolonged use of expensive, re-branded, infant formula instead of transitioning infants to cow’s milk, water and other healthy foods,” Smith said in the class action lawsuit.
Abbott Laboratories promises its Similac Go & Grow toddler drink is superior to cow’s milk, contradicting health authorities worldwide, Smith said, adding the Similac Go & Grow has less protein and more sugar and fat.
She was left asking what she was paying for after realizing there wasn’t much of a difference, claiming in the class action lawsuit that Similac Go & Grow toddler drink is three times more expensive than a gallon of cow’s milk.
Smith isn’t the only one taking legal action over the marketing and selling of toddler formulas.
Separate class action lawsuits with similar claims have been filed against Target, Gerber and Mead Johnson & Co.
Experts with the Health Eating Research program, a national initiative sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, advise parents not to give their children so-called toddler formulas.
Experts with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Heart Association all concur toddler drinks offer no additional upsides over a balanced diet.
Did you buy Similac’s Go & Grow toddler drink? Let us know in the comments below.
Counsel representing the plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit is Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.
The Similac Go & Grow Toddler Drink Class Action Lawsuit is Giovanna Smith, et al. v. Abbott Laboratories Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-05684, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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248 thoughts onSimilac Go & Grow Toddler Drink Doesn’t Provide Nutritional Benefits, Class Action Lawsuit Says
I just started my daughter on this since this week.
Have used this for my toddler. Please add me.
Please add and contact me, my son is 3 and has been on Similac Go and Grow for almost a year and a half
Add me
My baby has been taking since birth.