Judge Takes Bite Out of Nature Valley Granola Bar Class Action Lawsuit

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A California federal judge has ruled that plaintiffs must amend a class action lawsuit accusing General Mills Inc. of misleading consumers by claiming Nature Valley granola bars as “100% Natural” even though the products contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Plaintiff Gabriel Rojas filed the Nature Valley class action lawsuit, claiming that General Mills misled consumers by claiming that various products were “100% Natural” when they actually contained GMOs. He claims that he purchased several General Mills products in 2012, including Nature Valley Oats and Honey Crunchy Granola Bars and Nature Valley Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunchy Granola Bars.

General Mills produces a variety of products “which claim to be 100% Natural when, in fact, they are not, because they contain GMOs in the form of corn or soy ingredients,” the Nature Valley class action lawsuit says. Rojas argues that all consumers are exposed to the “100% Natural” label, which encourages them to pay a premium for the products. He argues that General Mills “intends for consumers to rely upon (the 100% Natural representations) when choosing to purchase the Products.” Rojas contends that he “relied upon” the company’s “untrue and misleading material statements and representations regarding the Products.”

Rojas brought the class action lawsuit on behalf of “all residents who have purchased General Mills Nature’s Valley granola bars containing corn or soy ingredients, for personal use, during the period extending from October 1, 2008, through and to the filing date of this First Amended Class Action Complaint.” He accused General Mills of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

General Mills moved to dismiss the Nature Valley granola bar class action lawsuit, claiming that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has primary jurisdiction over the term “natural” and that the plaintiff was not specific enough in his allegations. While U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick dismissed parts of the class action lawsuit, he also gave Rojas leave to amend the complaint.

Judge Orrick found that Rojas named only two General Mills products in the class action lawsuit, but that he sufficiently stated a claim for these named products. However, the judge dismissed claims related to the company’s advertisements because Rojas failed to “identify a single piece of advertising that Rojas saw and relied upon aside from the products’ packaging. He does not say when he saw them, how he saw them, what he saw, or why and how they were misleading.”

Judge Orrick granted General Mills’ motion to dismiss most of the class action lawsuit except with regard to the plaintiff’s claims relating to Nature Valley Oats and Honey Crunchy Granola Bars and Nature Valley Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunchy Granola Bars packaging. The judge will allow Rojas to amend the class action lawsuit.

This class action lawsuit is not the first to be filed against General Mills for its Nature Valley “natural” claims. In May, a similar class action lawsuit was dismissed by a Minnesota federal judge. That same month, a California federal judge refused to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by two mothers who claim that the “100% Natural” claims were misleading because that products include highly processed ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, high maltose corn syrup and maltodextrin.

Rojas is represented by Benjamin M. Loatin of The Law Offices of Howard W. Rubinstein and L. De-Wayne Layfield and Angela Arango-Chaffin.

The Nature Valley Granola Bar Class Action Lawsuit is Gabriel Rojas v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-05099, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Nov. 7, 2014, General Mills reportedly agreed to settle four Nature Valley class action lawsuits and will no longer include the allegedly misleading “natural” labels on its products.