General Mills Class Action Filed Over Cereal Sugar Content

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General Mills is facing a proposed class action lawsuit from consumers who claim they were misled by statements made by the food manufacturer on its cereal boxes.

The Minnesota-based food giant is among several companies to face an onslaught of consumer lawsuits that all focus on alleged false health claims.

The latest lawsuit, filed in the U. S. District Court in California, alleges General Mills is duping consumers into believing its cereals, including Honey Nut Cheerios and other products, are healthy, and centers that argument specifically on sugar content.

Plaintiffs Beverly Truxel and Stephen Hadley argue that the 52 breakfast cereals prevent the promotion of certain health benefits on its cereal boxes because they purportedly contain high amounts of sugar.

In particular, the class action lawsuit claims General Mills cereal box labeling contains phrases like “whole grains,” “no high fructose corn syrup,” and “fiber,” but these claims are essentially outweighed by the cereal’s high sugar content.

The complaint, which seeks class action status, argues that General Mills promoted its cereals’ health benefits — from whole grains to protein content to heart-healthy ingredients — despite sugar levels that effectively negate those attributes involving popular cereals such as Cheerios, Fiber One, Chex and some children’s cereals.

“Many of General Mills’ cereals and bars … contain high amounts of sugar, such that their regular consumption is likely to contribute to excess added sugar consumption and, thereby, increased risk for and contraction of chronic disease,” the plaintiffs state.

“Despite the compelling evidence that sugar acts as a chronic liver toxin, detrimentally affecting health, to increase the price and sales of its products, General Mills leverages a policy and practice of marketing high-sugar cereals, bars, other foods with health and wellness claims,” the complaint says. “These claims, however, are deceptive because they are incompatible with the significant dangers of the excessive added sugar consumption to which these foods contribute.”

According to the lawsuit, General Mills’ current cereal labels present a misleading picture to consumers, including those who are at risk for chronic health conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, if they consume too much sugar.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to order General Mills to change its labeling and “pay restitution to restore funds that may have been acquired” by the company’s allegedly deceptive practices.

This lawsuit comes on the heels of another case involving General Mills’ Cheerios Protein cereal currently pending in California federal court.

The consumers who brought that class action lawsuit alleges the cereal does not have more protein than regular Cheerios, while General Mills denies the allegations.

And General Mills is not the only company that’s a target: Top Class Actions reported just last week that Post Foods was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit over the alleged excessive amounts of sugar in their cereal brands, despite advertisements boasting the products are a healthy choice.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jack Fitzgerald, Trevor M. Flynn and Melanie Persinger of the Law Office of Jack Fitzgerald PC.

The General Mills Cereal Sugar Content Class Action Lawsuit is Beverly Truxel, et al. v. General Mills Sales Inc., Case No. 4:16-cv-04957, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Oct. 31, 2016, General Mills filed a memorandum in support of its earlier motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing it of deceptively advertising sugar-laden cereals as healthy, claiming that reasonable consumers would not be misled by the product labels.