Whole Foods Oatmeal Sugar Content Class Action Dismissed

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Whole Foods Oatmeal False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: A judge dismissed a false advertising class action lawsuit against Whole Foods.
• Why: The judge agreed with Whole Foods’ argument that the plaintiffs failed to adequately plead that the 365 Everyday Value brand Oats & Flax product label is likely to mislead consumers.
• Where: The Whole Foods class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.

Whole Foods has escaped a false advertising class action lawsuit alleging it misled consumers about the sugar content in its 365 Everyday Value brand Oats & Flax oatmeal products. However, the plaintiffs will have the opportunity to amend their complaint, according to the New York district judge’s Dec. 3 order.

Plaintiffs Amy Warren and Iesha Conley launched the Whole Foods class action lawsuit in November 2019, claiming they purchased the Whole Foods oatmeal products because they believed the “dehydrated cane juice solids” listed in the ingredients referred to fruit juice instead of referring to sugar.

Warren and Conley also say that the Whole Foods oatmeal packaging includes a stamp that suggests the product contains only whole grains even though it contains flax, which is allegedly an “oilseed” and not a grain.

The plaintiffs filed the Whole Foods oatmeal class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and other New York consumers who were also allegedly deceived by the Oats & Flax packaging

Judge Not Persuaded by Plaintiffs’ Claims in Whole Foods Class Action Lawsuit

Whole Foods argues that the plaintiffs failed to adequately plead that the Oats & Flax packaging is likely to mislead reasonable consumers. The health foods chain says that the plaintiffs’ claims that the label disguises the oatmeal sugar content are unpersuasive because “Sugar 11g” is prominently printed on the nutrition label.

The judge agreed with Whole Foods’ argument. 

“It seems unlikely that a reasonable consumer interested in a product’s sugar content would ignore the very place its sugar content is disclosed,” the judge wrote in her order. 

She also noted that the product packaging did not make any claims to suggest that the product did not contain added sugar or bear slogans that suggest it was made with fruit.

The judge also found unpersuasive the plaintiffs’ claim that the whole grain stamp is misleading because the label does not suggest that the product is made exclusively of whole grains. The argument is particularly unpersuasive in this case because the product is named Oats & Flax, which clearly discloses a non-grain ingredient.

She dismissed the Whole Foods class action lawsuit but gave the plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint.

Do you think the Whole Foods Oats & Flax product label misleads consumers about the sugar and whole grain content? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC, Michael R. Reese of Reese LLP, and Peter N. Wasylyk of Law Offices of Peter N. Wasylyk.

The Whole Foods Oats & Flax Class Action Lawsuit is Warren, et al. v. Whole Foods Market Group Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-06448, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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