Similac Class Action Says ‘Non-GMO’ Baby Formula Contains GMOs

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A class action lawsuit filed against Abbott Laboratories Inc. alleges that the company misleads consumers about its Similac Advanced Non-GMO baby formula.

The complaint contends that “independent testing lab results show at different times and across several lots and geographic areas, Similac Non-GMO contains GMOs.”

A “GMO” is a “genetically modified organism,” and as the complaint explains, these products do “not occur in nature” and commonily have “new features to the organism that would not naturally occur without scientific, genetic manipulation.”

The Similac class action lawsuit states that in 2015, Abbott Labs started marketing its “Non-GMO” Similac baby formula. The complaint claims that Abbott Labs made this change because it knew many consumers specifically wanted foods that did not contain GMOs.

The complaint includes a picture of the Similac Non-GMO packaging, and argues that the non-GMO label is very large on the front of the package to make all consumers aware of it. The package also states that the baby formula has “ingredients not genetically engineered.”

Plaintiffs Crystal Kao and Nina Barwick both state that they bought non-GMO Similac because they did not want their newborns to be fed with GMO foods.

“As Abbott had anticipated, consumers who look for and purchase GMO-free products, especially products for babies and infants, care greatly about the lack of GMOs in their food, and this is a material reason that customers choose Similac Non-GMO as opposed to other Similac lines of products (including the organic and standard formulas),” according to the class action.

The complaint argues that the “Non-GMO” label is material to consumers, and Abbott Labs knew that its misrepresentations would trick customers into buying the product.

The Similac deceptive advertising class action states that in independent testing, the substance GTS-40-3-2 Soy was detected. The complaint explains that GTS-40-3-2 Soy is a soybean plant created by Monsanto to resist its Roundup herbicide, making it a GMO.

Since this GMO was detected in all batches of the baby formula that were tested, the class action argues that “it can be assumed that all formulations of Similac Non-GMO contain this same presence of GTS-40-3-2 Soy, and the period of contamination is from product launch through the present.” Based on this, the complaint alleges violations of federal warranty law and state consumer protection statutes against Abbott Labs.

The deceptive advertising lawsuit request certification of a Class of “[a]ll persons who purchased Similac Non-GMO from any retail outlet in the United States or who resided in the United States at the time they made online purchases of Similac Non-GMO.” The complaint also requests subclasses of California and Tennessee residents. The class action seeks all damages, including “actual, direct, incidental, statutory, consequential, punitive and exemplary,” as well as “appropriate” injunctive relief.

Kao and Barwick are represented by Jonathan Weissglass of Altshuler Berzon LLP, and J. Gerard Stranch, IV, Benjamin A. Gastel, and Michael Isaac Miller of Branstetter Stranch & Jennings PLLC.

The Similac Baby Formula GMO Class Action Lawsuit is Crystal Kao, et al. v. Abbott Laboratories Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-02790, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.