Panera class action claims restaurant falsely advertises bagel as predominantly made with sprouted grains

Panera sprouted grains class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Lakema Tate filed a class action lawsuit against Panera and West Covina Panera Bread owner/general manager Kym Kanow. 
• Why: Tate claims the Panera Sprouted Grain Bagel Flat contains more regular non-sprouted grains than sprouted grains.
• Where: The Panera class action was removed to federal court in California.

A new Panera Bread class action lawsuit claims the fast casual restaurant chain’s Panera Sprouted Grain Bagel Flat actually contains more regular non-sprouted grains than sprouted grains.

The Panera bagel ingredient list shows that several other grains are listed above sprouted grains, which actually less than 0.4% of the product. 

Sprouted grains are a premium ingredient that go through germination before being added into the bread, the Panera class action says. The sprouted grains have fewer starches, lower carbohydrate content, are easier to digest and have a lower glycemic index than regular grains, the lawsuit says.

“Plaintiff Tate had a reasonable expectation that sprouted grain constituted the primary, if not exclusive, source of grain in the product,” the Panera class action claims. “If Plaintiff Tate had been aware that the product was primarily composed of traditional, non-sprouted grains, and only contained trace amounts of sprouted grain, she would have refrained from making the purchase or would have paid considerably less for it.”

Panera bagel lawsuit: Sprouted grains have higher nutritional value processed grains don’t include

Sprouting led to higher levels of essential nutrients, including protein, fiber and vitamins in the grains. Sprouting breaks down phytic acid, which gets in the way of absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body, the lawsuit says.

The processed wheat and white flour used by Panera bagel have been stripped of the fiber, vitamins and minerals they start with — confusing customers, because other companies include higher amounts of sprouted grains in their sprouted grain products, the Panera sprouted grains lawsuit claims.

Starbucks also must face a class action related to its sprouted grain bagels after a federal judge ruled against a motion from the company to dismiss the lawsuit in September 2023.

Have you ever purchased a Panera Sprouted Grain Bagel Flat? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by David A. Baldwin of The Law Office of David Baldwin.

The Panera sprouted grains class action lawsuit is Tate v. Panera LLC, et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-03007, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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