Settlement: Quaker Must Remove Trans Fats From Oatmeal Products

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Quaker Oats Co. will have to remove trans fats from its oatmeal products as part of a class action settlement agreement, alleging that the oatmeal products were advertised as healthy even though they contained partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs). A California federal judge has approved the agreement.

“Quaker agreed to modify it’s business practices as follows: Quaker agreed to remove partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from its Oatmeal to Go and Instant Oatmeal Products that currently contain PHOs by Dec. 31, 2015 and not to reintroduce PHOs for a period of ten years,” U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg wrote in the order.

Quaker will have to spend about $1.4 million to reformulate these products, according to court documents.

In addition, Quaker also “agreed not to introduce PHOs into its Chewy Bar Products (which do not currently contain PHOs),” Seeborg wrote.

Quaker must also stop “making the statement ‘contains a dietary insignificant amount of trans fat’ on the label of any of the products at issue in this action which still contain more than 0.2 grams of artificial trans fat per serving by Dec. 31, 2014,” he added.

According to the Quaker trans fat class action lawsuit, the food manufacturer violated several California state laws designed to protect consumers including the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law and the Unfair Competition Law.

Quaker filed a motion to dismiss, which Seeborg granted in part in a March 2012 ruling. Several of the statements that Quaker made on its packaging that the plaintiffs were challenging were preempted by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, he said. The judge allowed other allegations regarding other statements and images to remain.

Following the ruling, the plaintiffs met with the Quaker officials for the purpose of discovery. The attorneys representing the Class also did their own research into other trans fat product labeling lawsuits to aid in the settlement agreement.

“The complexity, expense and likely duration of the litigation favor settlement — which provides meaningful benefits on a much shorter time frame than otherwise possible — on behalf of the class,” Seeborg wrote.

The plaintiffs claimed that they purchased the Quaker oatmeal products in question on several occasions and used the claims made on the packaging to make the decision to purchase the products.

They claim that they learned they were misled by the statements on the oatmeal products by the fact that the products do in fact contain trans fats.

For more information about the Quaker trans fat class action lawsuit settlement agreement, please visit the Quaker Lawsuit website.  

The plaintiffs are represented by Gregory Weston and Jack Fitzgerald of The Weston Firm PC and Ronald Marron of the Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron APLC.

Quaker is represented by Daniel W. Nelson and Scott P. Martin of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

The Quaker Trans Fat Labeling Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Quaker Oats Labeling Litigation, Case No.5:10-cv-00502, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.