General Mills Urges Judge to Dismiss Sugary Cereal Class Action Lawsuit

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On Monday, General Mills Sales Inc. 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.

The cereal company also asserts that the plaintiffs did not plausibly allege that they suffered physical injury from the allegedly misleading labeling and therefore the sugary cereal class action lawsuit should be dismissed.

The General Mills class action lawsuit was filed in September by plaintiffs Beverly Truxel and Stephen Hadley. They take issue with more than 50 General Mills breakfast cereals that they allege include misleading labels about the products’ health benefits.

The plaintiffs assert that these “healthy” cereals include claims that they contain “whole grains,” “no high fructose corn syrup” and “fiber,” but that these health claims are offset by the products’ high sugar content.

According to the General Mills class action lawsuit, consuming high amounts of sugar increases the risk of developing chronic diseases including diabetes, obesity and heart disease.

The plaintiffs claim they chose to purchase the General Mills cereals based on their purported health benefits, not realizing they contained excess sugar that could put their health at risk.

General Mills argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations specify how added sugar should be listed on food labels.

According to General Mills, the FDA regulations also establish a Daily Reference Value for added sugar, which is listed as 50 grams per day for adults.

“The FDA chose this rule guided by a science-backed judgment that many foods containing added sugar—including, specifically, cereals and other whole-grain foods—are part of a healthy diet,” General Mills argues in support of dismissing the sugary cereal class action lawsuit. “And it made the regulatory decision not to discourage consumers from eating certain foods simply because they contain added sugar. This is the careful and informed balance the FDA struck.”

General Mills asserts that the sugary cereal class action lawsuit seeks to “topple” the FDA’s regulations and rely on scientific conclusions that have been rejected by the federal agency.

According to General Mills, the FDA advises consumers to eat high-fiber and other nutrient-dense foods, regardless of the sugar content, noting that the average consumer is ingesting half the recommended levels of dietary fiber.

The company accuses the plaintiffs of seeking to have the court create special labeling requirements for whole-grain foods that contain added sugar.

General Mills asserts the sugary cereal class action lawsuit is preempted by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, which amended the federal Food Drug & Cosmetics Act.

The purpose of the NLEA was purportedly to create uniform national standards regarding food labeling. The NLEA reportedly contains a provision that bars state law requirements that are not identical to NLEA’s label requirements.

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.