Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Bars Contain Hidden Sugar, Class Action Says

A Pervine Foods customer has filed a class action against the company over allegations that the brand disguises its sugar content in certain protein bars. 

Plaintiff Michael Ring says he purchased Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Cookies and Cream protein bars believing the product was low in sugar.

He claims that he was misled into thinking this because the first ingredient on the ingredient list is “evaporated cane juice” instead of sugar.

Ring says that he was financially injured by his purchase of the Fit Crunch bars, and he seeks damages on behalf of himself and all other similarly affected customers.

According to Ring, many other customers were similarly misled. He says the company intentionally made the label misleading, in an effort to entice customers into purchasing the products. Allegedly, the use of the term “juice” implies that the products are healthier than they are.

According to the Pervine Foods class action lawsuit, customers who purchase the Fit Crunch protein bars tend to be health conscious, and actively seek out protein bars that will benefit their health.

These customers allegedly may look at the ingredient list to determine if products are healthy. According to Ring, the customers have no other way to determine the nutrition content of the bars other than by reading the label.

In Ring’s opinion, Pervine Foods intentionally uses the term “evaporated cane juice” to mislead consumers into thinking that the first ingredient is healthy.

He claims that many customers pay more for products that possess positive qualities associated with real vegetable or fruit juice. Allegedly, these qualities include vitamins, minerals and other health benefits.

In reality, he says, the first ingredient is sugar — claiming that evaporated cane juice is simply cane sugar.

He explains that the presence of sugar in a protein bar does quite the opposite of contributing to health. He says that excess sugar consumption is related to a range of well-documented health problems, including diabetes, obesity, high blood sugar, heart disease and other complications.

The Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch protein bar class action lawsuit notes that because the public is increasingly aware of the health problems associated with sugar, more and more consumers are actively seeking to reduce the amount of sugar in their diets.

To support this view, he notes that the FDA has identified that consumers may be misled by the use of the term “evaporated cane juice” for the same reasons.

Ring says that consumers were financially injured by their purchase of the products because had they known that the protein bars were not as healthy as the label implies, they would not have purchased them or would not have paid as much for them.

Allegedly, the Fit Crunch are sold at a premium of around $3 per bar. Ring says that this price is higher than the price of other bars that are not misleadingly labeled.

According to the plaintiff, Pervine Foods put profits ahead of its customers, and unjustly enriched itself from the sale of the products.

In the protein bars class action lawsuit, Ring asserts that Pervine Foods violates the consumer protection statutes of New York General Business Law, commits negligent misrepresentation, and breaches both express and implied warranty.

Ring seeks damages on behalf of himself and all other similarly affected customers, as well as an injunction barring the company from continuing to misrepresent its products in this manner.

He asserts that without intervention from the court, Pervine Foods will continue to misleadingly advertise its products.

Ring proposes a Class of all those customers who purchased the product in New York “during the applicable status of limitations.” The plaintiff says he can adequately represent this Class of customers because his experience of being misled by the protein bars’ labels was consistent with many other customers’ experience.

He also claims that a class action lawsuit is the ideal way to pursue the Pervine Foods alleged misrepresentation issue because it will allow all customers in the Class to receive consistent results from litigation.

Do you look at the sugar content of protein bars before making a purchase? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Ring is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Protein Bar Sugar Content Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Ring v. Pervine Foods LLC, Case No. 1:20-cv-01852, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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