Cream of Wheat Class Action Says Cereal Doesn’t Contain Maple Syrup

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

A class action lawsuit claims a variety of Cream of Wheat instant hot cereal is falsely advertised as containing maple brown sugar.

Plaintiff Michael Horton of California is bringing this claim against B&G Foods Inc. and B&G Foods North America, the makers of Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal Maple Brown Sugar.

Horton says the product does not actually contain any “maple brown sugar” or any other maple ingredients.

According to Horton, maple syrup and maple sugar are considered “premium products” that are preferred over other kinds of sweeteners.

For that reason, consumers are willing to pay more if they believe the product they’re buying contains genuine maple syrup or maple sugar.

Horton says the defendants exploit that preference by falsely representing that its instant Cream of Wheat contains “Maple Brown Sugar.”

Consumers who buy this product pay a premium for it, in reliance on the representation that it contains the premium ingredient they want. But the actual product is not what they’ve been reasonably led to expect, Horton claims.

An image copied into Horton’s Cream of Wheat class action lawsuit shows the front of a Cream of Wheat box. The labeling shows an image of a bottle of what appears to be maple syrup, and the words “Maple Brown Sugar” appear prominently across the front of the box.

The practice of labeling products as containing maple-based ingredients has also gotten the attention of members of the maple products trade. In a letter to the FDA, the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association points out that this practice allows cheaper products to compete unfairly with those that contain actual maple syrup.

Horton says he bought a box of Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal Maple Brown Sugar from a store in Los Angeles County. He says he reasonably relied on the representations on the box that led him to believe the product contained maple ingredients.

Had he known that the product did not actually contain maple syrup or maple sugar, Horton says he either would not have purchased it or would have paid less for it.

Horton’s Cream of Wheat class action lawsuit alleges B&G violated California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and the Sherman Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law. Horton also raises a common law claim for fraudulent inducement.

If certified, Horton’s proposed nationwide Class will represent all persons who bought Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal Maple Brown Sugar from four years before the filing of this action through the date of Class certification.

He is asking the court to order B&G to stop representing that their products contain maple syrup or maple sugar. He also seeks an award of damages, restitution of profits received via the allegedly deceptive advertising, court costs and attorneys’ fees, all with pre-judgment interest.

Horton is represented by attorney Gerald B. Malanga of Lattie Malanga Libertino LLP.

The Cream of Wheat Maple Ingredients Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Horton v. B&G Foods Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-06638 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.