Purely Elizabeth Falsely Advertises the Amount of Protein in its Products, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

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Food producer Purely Elizabeth falsely advertises the amount of protein in its products and mislabels them in violation of states and federal laws, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

The class action lawsuit was filed in California on May 28 by lead Plaintiffs Alondra Meraz and Sharyn Bucksbaum, who allege that Purely Elizabeth LLC has been misrepresenting the amount of protein in its products to capitalize on consumer diet trends.

The pair says that by misrepresenting its products, the company has increased its own sales while decreasing the sales of competitors that do not misrepresent the number of grams of protein contained in their products. They add that Purely Elizabeth has also commanded a higher price for its products, which include oats, oatmeal, pancake and waffle mixes, and granola, because consumers will pay more due to demand for products containing more protein.

Meraz purchased the Purely Elizabeth Grain-Free Protein Pancake Mix, and Buksbaum purchased the Vanilla Almond Butter Grain-Free Granola, Pumpkin Cinnamon Ancient Grain Granola, the Grain Free Pancake and Waffle Mix, Grain-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Granola, Cinnamon Almond Cauli Hot Cereal Cup, and the Strawberry Hazelnut Cauli Hot Cereal Cup.

According to the claim, the pair purchased the products because of their labels’ protein claims, and said they also paid more money for the products than they would have paid for other or a similar protein product that was not mislabeled.

They allege that Purely Elizabeth products have less protein than advertised, and cite the example of the Vanilla Pecan Collagen Protein Oats in the class action lawsuit. They allege that the Vanilla Pecan Collagen Protein Oats is advertised as having seven grams of protein per serving, but in truth only has six grams.

“Based on amino acid content testing, the Products contain up to 25% less protein than claimed, meaning, for example, rather than having 7 grams of protein per serving, the Vanilla Pecan Collagen Protein Oats product actually has only 6 grams.”

The claim adds that Purely Elizabeth uses proteins of low biological value to humans in their products, such as collagen, amaranth, and nut protein (such as almonds and pecans). Meraz and Buksbaum say that the company’s false advertising and use of incomplete proteins exploits increasingly health conscious consumers who “seek foods high in protein to support weight loss, exercise, and general fitness, among other perceived health benefits of protein consumption.”

“To capitalize on the growing market, Defendant is continually launching new product lines and flavors to diversify its portfolio to maintain its competitive edge, making it likely that Defendant will continue to misleadingly advertise its Products and perpetuate the misrepresentations regarding the number of grams of protein in its Products,” the class action lawsuit alleges.

The pair claim that Purely Elizabeth also misbranded its products, saying that state and federal regulations require any product that makes a protein claim to include daily totals percentages in the nutrition facts panel, however the company does not do that.

“Because Defendant makes a protein content claim, it was statutorily obligated to calculate the protein content of the Products via the amino analysis described above and to provide a percent daily value figure using the PDCAAS method,” the claim states.

Meraz and Buksbaum are looking to represent anyone in California who purchased Purely Elizebeth products. They are suing for breach of advertising and consumer laws and unjust enrichment. They seek certification of the Class, damages, restitution, declaratory relief, interest, legal fees, and a jury trial.

Purely Elizabeth isn’t the only company to face legal action over its protein claims. In May, whey protein supplement producer Bowmar Nutrition was hit with a class action lawsuit for allegedly lying about the amount of protein in its products, with some allegedly containing 60 percent less protein than listed on nutritional labels.

Do you take any protein supplements? Do you check the nutrition facts panel on the back of the product labelling? Let us know in the comments section!

Meraz and Buksbaum  are represented by Seth A. Safier, Marie McCrary, and Hayley Reynolds of Gutride Safier LLP.

The Purely Elizabeth False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Meraz, et al. vs. Purely Elizabeth, LLC, Case No. 3:21-cv-04091, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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