Kashi Mislabeled Products Class Action Lawsuit

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A California consumer filed a class action lawsuit Monday against Kellogg Company Inc. and Kashi Co. claiming Kashi products are mislabeled in order to hide the amount of sugar they contain.

Plaintiff Nadine Saubers says the companies are violating a number of laws by labeling the Kashi products as containing “evaporated cane juice” instead of what the ingredient really is – sugar – and by failing to disclose that the ingredient is still considered to be processed sugar.

“Nearly all of Kashi’s products’ labels list ‘evaporated cane juice’ as an ingredient despite the fact that the FDA has specifically warned companies not to use the term because it is ‘false and misleading,’ is not ‘the common or usual name of any type of sweetener,’ and the ingredient is not, in fact, juice,” the class action lawsuit states.

Saubers says Kashi is aware of consumers’ demand for natural, healthy and nutrition foods, and has utilized improper marketing strategies and ingredient mislabeling practices to capitalize on this demand.

Evaporated cane juice has been the target of numerous class action lawsuits recently alleging the ingredient is used to mislead consumers into believing a product is healthy. These lawsuits have targeted Chobani Greek Yogurt and a host of products sold at Trader Joe’s.

For example, Kashi says on its website that evaporated cane juice is a “natural” sweetener, implying that it is less harmful than processed white sugar which can contribute to obesity and related health problems like diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. The truth, according to Saubers, is that evaporated cane juice is “substantially similar” to processed white sugar in terms of health effects.

If consumers knew this, they would not have purchased the Kashi products or would have at least not been willing to pay a premium price for them over other brands, Saubers claims in the class action lawsuit.

The complaint lists dozens of Kashi products that are alleged to have been mislabeled, including cereal, pasta, frozen entrees, chips, crackers and bars.

Saubers is seeking to represent a proposed class of all U.S. residents who purchased Kashi misbranded products since October 1, 2009, including a subclass of California purchasers.

The Kashi Deceptive Labeling Class Action Lawsuit case is Nadine Saubers v. Kashi Co., Case No. 13-cv-00899, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE 1: California residents who purchased certain Kashi products that were allegedly falsely advertised as natural may also be eligible for benefits from a class action settlement. For more information, visit the combined Kashi/Bear Naked settlement website at www.NaturalClassSettlement.com.

UPDATE 2: Checks for the Kashi and Bear Naked class action settlements have been mailed! On Jan. 2, 2015, Top Class Actions viewers began reporting they had received checks worth as much as $328.22 from the settlements. Congratulations to everyone who submitted claims and got paid!

All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions