General Mills to Drop ‘Natural’ Claims in Nature Valley Settlement

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

General Mills Inc. has agreed to settle four class action lawsuits accusing the company of deceptively labeling its Nature Valley products as “100% Natural” even though they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and processed ingredients.

Under the terms of the Nature Valley class action settlement, which was announced in November, General Mills will refrain from using the “100% Natural” claim for products that contain a number of synthetic ingredients, including corn syrup, soy lecithin, glycerin and maltodextrin. The labeling changes will affect about 30 Nature Valley granola bar products.

While the Nature Valley class action settlement will have a significant impact on the marketing and labeling of the General Mills products, it does not provide any monetary benefits to Class Members.

Last summer, a judge issued a stay on the Nature Valley class action lawsuits, requesting guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about whether products that contain GMOs can be marketed as natural. However, the agency has declined to offer input in the context of litigation. “If we were to address this policy question, we would use a public process, such as issuing a regulation or guidance,” an FDA representative said.

The Nature Valley class action lawsuits date back to 2012. They were filed by consumers and advocacy groups in several states and alleged the Nature Valley granola bar labels were misleading. The plaintiffs argued that they would not have purchased the products if they had known they were not actually 100 percent natural.

General Mills denied the allegations but agreed to settle the Nature Valley class action lawsuits to avoid the burden, expense and distraction of continued litigation. The company argued that its labels weren’t misleading because the ingredient list clarified any possible misconceptions.

The labels on the Nature Valley granola bars were changed prior to the filing of the class action lawsuits in 2012, according to General Mills. However, the company continued to fight the Nature Valley class action lawsuits because they sought damages for the allegedly misleading labels.

In recent years, the number of false advertising lawsuits taking issue with allegedly misleading “natural” labeling has skyrocketed. Dozens of companies have been hit with class action lawsuits filed by health-conscious consumers who feel they have been duped by labels that tout all natural ingredients even though they allegedly contain synthetic ingredients or GMOs.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael R. Reese of Reese Richman LLP and Steven M. Sherman of Sherman Business Law.

The Nature Valley “100% Natural” Class Action Lawsuits are Nicole Van Atta v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-02815, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, and Gabriel Rojas, et al. v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-05099, Sean Bohac, et al. v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-05280, and Judith Janney, et al. v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-03919, all in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.