Whole Foods Yogurt Has 5x More Sugar Than Advertised, Class Action Says

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A class action lawsuit was filed in a Pennsylvania federal court this week alleging that Whole Foods Inc. loaded its store-bought Greek yogurt with five times the amount of sugar than the amount listed on its packaging.

Lead plaintiffs, Pennsylvania residents Carmine Clemente and Samantha Kilgallen, alleged in their class action lawsuit that Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Plain Greek Yogurt is labeled as containing 2 grams of sugar per serving while actually containing 11.4 grams of sugar, more than five times the labeled amount, according to Consumer Reports magazine.

Both plaintiffs claim they purchased several containers of Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Plain Greek Yogurt for approximately $1.29 a container from various Whole Foods stores throughout the state. The plaintiffs allege that Whole Foods mislabeled the product to trick grocery store consumers into paying higher process for the higher priced yogurt. “Defendant Whole Foods Market Inc. has been fully aware that it was drastically understating the amount of sugar on the ‘Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Plain Greek Yogurt’ label and that the actual sugar content of the product was many times higher than the 2 grams per serving falsely stated on the label,” accused the plaintiffs in their Whole Foods class action lawsuit.

Further, “Defendant Whole Foods Market Inc. sought to give itself a competitive advantage and use this false statement of contents to induce consumers to purchase ‘Whole Foods Everyday Value Plain Greek Yogurt,’” argued the plaintiffs. “Indeed, numerous internet blogs and consumer websites maintain that Whole Foods Market’s prices are generally higher than those of competing grocery stores, leading some consumers to nickname it ‘Whole Paycheck Market,” the class action lawsuit says.

This false advertising lawsuit and another class action lawsuit filed in Massachusetts hit Whole Foods soon after Consumer Reports magazine disclosed the labeling discrepancy in a July 17 article. In a comment about labeling of the product, but not the pending class action lawsuits, a spokesperson for Whole Foods stated, “We strive to only provide the highest quality products with accurate product labeling under our 365 Everyday Value line. This product was tested by a reputable third party lab using FDA-approved testing methodology to determine the labeling. We recognize that Consumer Reports is a trusted publication and are looking into why their test results differ from ours.”

The plaintiffs in the Pennsylvania class action lawsuit seek to represent a Class of shoppers who number of 10,000 according to the plaintiffs, who have also purchased the yogurt at Whole Foods ten Pennsylvania stores. The lead plaintiffs claim Whole Foods violated Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law as well as common law relating to express warranty. The plaintiffs say they seek injunctive, declaratory and monetary relief.

Lead plaintiffs, Carmine Clemente and Samantha Kilgallen, are represented by Stephen DeNittis of DeNittis Osefchen PC.

The Whole Foods Greek Yogurt False Labeling Class Action Lawsuits are Knox v. Whole Foods Market Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-13185, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and Clemente, et al. v. Whole Foods Market Inc., Case No. 140801271, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

UPDATE: On Mar. 4, 2016, attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the Whole Foods class action lawsuit asked a judge to grant sanctions on the health food giant because it knowingly destroyed all of its 0% and 2% Greek yogurt sold under the Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value store brand.

UPDATE 2: On Mar. 25, 2016, Whole Foods fired back against allegations that it intentionally destroyed evidence in a consumer class action lawsuit involving claims it misrepresented the amount of sugar in its Greek yogurt.

UPDATE 3: On Sept. 1, 2016, Whole Foods opposed a sanctions request over destroyed Greek yogurt products, telling a federal court judge the grocery retaileris not to blame that the Class of consumer plaintiffs was not able to conduct testing on the 365 Everyday Value Greek yogurt products in question and that the case should be dismissed entirely.