Cheerios Weedkiller Class Action Tossed

A Florida federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit claiming that General Mills should have told customers that there were low levels of the weedkiller glyphosate in Cheerios.

According to U.S. District Court Judge Robert Scola Jr., because the plaintiff had not suffered real health risks, she could not claim injury.

The Cheerios class action lawsuit was filed by Mounira Doss, who claims that trace amounts of the weedkiller glyphosate is present in Cheerios and other cereals.

She says that some research has indicated that glyphosate may cause cancer, so General Mills should have warned customers of its presence in their products.

However, Judge Scola determined that Doss’ claims of injury were “mere conjecture,” because she only asserted that glyphosate could be harmful, not that she suffered actual injuries.

Doss only claims economic loss in her Cheerios class action lawsuit, saying that had she known that the Cheerios contained glyphosate, she would not have purchased it or would not have paid as much as she did.

The Cheerios class action noted that the World Health Organization has dubbed glyphosate a “probable human carcinogen.”

Additionally, there is some evidence that people who were exposed to glyphosate over a long period of time may be at a higher risk for non-Hodgkins lymphoma than those who are not, according to the Cheerios class action lawsuit.

Doss also states that according to the state of California, glyphosate is known to cause cancer.

The plaintiff says she purchased both regular Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios. She claims that Cheerios could be dangerous to her and other customers, but did not assert that she had been harmed by them.

The Cheerios glyphosate labeling class action lawsuit argued that General Mills breached its warranty and implied warranty of merchantability.

She also claimed that the company had been unjustly enriched by gaining profits from the sale of foods allegedly misrepresented as safe. The plaintiff also alleged that General Mills violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, in the case of her proposed Class of Florida consumers.

Judge Scola determined that these claims were not enough to merit the case going forward. In his words, “Put simply, the plaintiff has failed to allege an injury in fact based on her purchase of Cheerios and she therefore lacks standing.”

The judge also said that Doss had not sufficiently define the “ultra low levels” of glyphosate she claims are present in Cheerios. Judge Scola says, “at what level, exactly, does glyphosate, in oats, cause harm?” Judge Scola went on to say that Doss’ complaint “offers no answers.”

Doss is represented by Scott P. Schlesinger, Jonathan R. Gdanski and Jeffrey L. Haberman of Schlesinger Law Offices PA.

The Cheerios Glyphosate Class Action Lawsuit is Doss, et al. v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 0:18-cv-61924, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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