Harvest Snaps Class Action Lawsuit Claims the Snack is Mislabeled

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Calbee North America, the makers of Harvest Snaps food products, has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the company deliberately mislabeled their popular health food snacks.

Lead plaintiff Jutamat Riedel claims that Calbee’s popular snack, Harvest Snaps, are made from a combination of powdered snap peas, rice, and corn oil; however, Calbee markets the product as “simply baked snap peas.” The plaintiff argues that the labeling of the product is “misleading” and “deceptive.”

“By marketing the products as baked ‘green pea crisps,’ [Calbee] took wrongful advantage of consumers increasingly strong preference for foods made entirely of wholesome ingredients,” alleged the plaintiff in her complaint. “Consumers attribute a wide range of benefits to food products made without extensive processing and perceive these food products to be higher quality, healthier, safer to eat and less damaging to the environment.”

According to the class action lawsuit, the plaintiff and other consumers paid a premium for Calbee’s Harvest Snap products, which include varieties of the snack such as lightly salted, wasabi ranch, black pepper, and Caesar.

The plaintiff alleges that Calbee’s packaging on the Harvest Snaps contain various health related claims, including that the snap peas contain “40% less fat,” are “a good source of fiber” and contain “low sodium” compared to regular potato chips.

“Makers of regular potato chips, on the other hand, do not make claims about being healthy,” argues the plaintiff in the Harvest Snaps class action lawsuit.

Calbee is a North Dakota company that develops, markets and sells food products throughout the United States. Harvest Snaps products are sold at major retail locations and online throughout the United States.

“The advertising for the Products was designed to encourage consumers to purchase the Products and reasonably misled the consumers,” alleges the plaintiff in the Harvest Snaps class action. Calbee “owns, manufactures and distributes the Products, and created and/or authorized the unlawful, fraudulent, unfair, misleading and/or deceptive labeling and advertising for the Products,” the plaintiff continues.

The alleged deceptive marketing by Calbee constitutes negligent misrepresentation and violated New York General Business Law and consumer protection statutes nationwide according to the complaint. The plaintiff also alleges that Calbee was unjustly enriched by the misrepresentation.

According to the Harvest Snaps class action lawsuit, the plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased Calbee’s Harvest Snaps products from 1999 until the present. She also hopes to represent a subclass of New York consumers who purchased the various Harvest Snaps products.

The plaintiff seeks restitution and disgorgement, compensatory damages, actual and statutory damages, interests, and attorney fees and costs for herself and on behalf of the class.

Riedel, and the proposed classes, are represented by attorneys C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group in New York City.

The Harvest Snaps Mislabeling Class Action Lawsuit is Reidel v. Calbee North America LLC., Case No. 1:16-CV-00229-JG-MDG in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.