Panera Bread Class Action Challenges ‘Clean’ Food Marketing

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The popular fast casual restaurant chain Panera Bread faces a class action lawsuit alleging their marketing misrepresents the food served.

Lead plaintiff Brianna Tabler claims that Panera’s new “eat clean” advertising scheme dupes consumers.

While Panera claims that food served at its nationwide chain of stores can be incorporated into consumers interested in how their food is “farmed, processed, and prepared,” Tabler says that Panera products actually contain synthetic biocide residue.

The plaintiff says that she and other consumers were sucked in by Panera’s new promotional marketing that touts that its food is “100% clean” or “clean.”

Tabler says that she and others seek out so-called clean food in order to bypass residues of insecticides, herbicides and other contaminating agents.

According to the Panera class action lawsuit, “there is a growing desire among consumers to purchase and consume ‘clean’ foods, which consumers understand to be foods free of artificial ingredients, especially pesticides.”

“Panera produces sandwiches, baked goods, and other prepared foods that are sold to consumers through Panera’s retail outlets or restaurants and are advertised and promoted as ‘clean.’”

By attempting to jump on the “clean eating” wagon, Panera neglects the fact that a synthetic biocide is present in its products, contends the Panera Bread class action lawsuit. That substance is allegedly glyphosate which is suspected to have detrimental health effects.

“In sum, Panera is deceiving consumers into believing that the Products are of a higher quality, free from synthetic chemicals, or free from chemical residues from the production process when they are not,” states the Panera class action lawsuit.

According to the Panera Bread class action, Panera’s clean eating campaign includes in-store advertisements as well as bags, signs, and labels.

In addition to using an earthy green and brown color scheme, the restaurant portrays its food a not containing synthetic chemicals used during the ingredients’ growing, harvest, or processing.

Despite these representations, analysis of Panera Bread products reveals a residue of a synthetic biocide, glyphosate, alleges the Panera class action.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the Monsanto Company’s popular weed killer Roundup. Invented in 1974, it was used ubiquitously until recent concerns over links to detrimental health conditions were discovered.

“By deceiving consumers about the nature, quality, and/or ingredients of the Products, Panera is able to sell a greater volume of the Products, to charge higher prices for the Products, and to take away market share from competing products, thereby increasing its own sales and profits,” alleges the Panera Bread class action lawsuit.

Tabler accuses Panera of fraud, false advertising, and violations of California consumer protection and advertising law.

The Panera class action lawsuit seeks to represent California consumers who purchased products at a chain location.

The plaintiff is seeking damages as well as a court order requiring Panera to “remove and refrain from making representations on the Products’ packaging or elsewhere that the Products are ‘100% clean’ or ‘clean.’”

Tabler and the proposed Class are represented by Jaimie Mak and Kim E. Richman of Richman Law Group.

The Panera Bread “Eat Clean” Class Action Lawsuit is Tabler v. Panera LLC, et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-01646, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.