Whole Foods Class Action Says St. John’s Wort Is Deceptively Advertised

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Whole Foods Market Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging it sells a St. John’s Wort product that does not contain consistent amounts of the sole active ingredient.

Plaintiff Katie Klingberg asserts Whole Foods cut corners in order to keep its manufacturing costs low and maximize the profits made from the sale of nutritional supplements.

According to the Whole Foods class action lawsuit, the St. John’s Wort supplement sold by Whole Foods does not contain consistent amounts of the standardized extract hypericin, the sole active ingredient in the supplement.

St. John’s Wort is promoted as an herbal antidepressant, and it is commonly used for its neurological effects, the Whole Foods class action lawsuit alleges.

Klingberg says she paid about $14.99 for a St. John’s Wort supplement from a Whole Foods store in Illinois. The label indicated that the product contains “0.3% Hypericin, 0.9 mg,” the false advertising class action lawsuit states.

After learning from a report by watchdog group ConsumerLab.com that Whole Foods’ St. John’s Wort supplements contain low levels of hypericin, Klingberg’s attorney had the supplement tested and found that it contained even less hypericin than reported.

According to the St. John’s Wort class action lawsuit, Klingberg’s supplement contained a little over 30 percent of the label claim, while the ConsumerLab.com report indicated the supplement contained less than 60 percent of the amount claimed on the label.

“Based on these test results, WFM’s claims that its St. John’s Wort Product contains ‘0.3% Hypericin, 0.9 mg’ and ‘Supports a Healthy, Positive Mood’ are false, deceptive and misleading,” the Whole Foods class action lawsuit alleges.

Klingberg states that Whole Foods is aware that it manufactures its St. John’s Wort supplement to contain less than the amount claimed on the product label, but that it fails to inform consumers about this material fact.

According to the herbal supplement class action lawsuit, reasonable consumers rely on the product label when deciding to purchase the St. John’s Wort supplement. Klingberg says that she and the putative Class Members were misled by Whole Foods’ misrepresentations about the true nature of the hypericin content.

The St. John’s Wort class action lawsuit asserts Whole Foods is in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, which regulates food labeling,

By filing the Whole Foods class action lawsuit, Klingberg seeks to represent a national Class of consumers who purchased Whole Foods’ St. John’s Wort product.

She also seeks to represent an Illinois subclass and a Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class of consumers in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Washington who purchased the St. John’s Wort product.

Klingberg is represented by Klint L. Bruno and Michael L. Silverman of The Bruno Firm and Nick Suciu III of Barbat, Mansour & Suciu PLLC.

The Whole Foods St. John’s Wort Class Action Lawsuit is Katie Klingberg v. Whole Foods Market Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-00138, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.