Walmart Class Action Claims Glucosamine Tablets are Mislabeled

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Walmart has been hit with a class action lawsuit claiming that their store brand glucosamine tablets are mislabeled.

Plaintiffs Cynthia Parker, Reba Garth, Margaret Herrin, and Shirley Reinhard allege that Walmart misrepresents its store-brand glucosamine sulfate dietary supplement tablets, because the ingredients in the tablets really contain a mixture of glucosamine hydrochloride and potassium sulfate.

The four women claim that they, like many consumers around the world, take glucosamine hydrochloride to reduce pain caused by osteoarthritis. They say that glucosamine hydrochloride and potassium sulfate are not similarly effective in treating osteoarthritis, and that Walmart intentionally uses glucosamine hydrochloride and potassium sulfate in their tablets because they are cheaper than the advertised glucosamine sulfate.

The Walmart falsely advertised supplements class action lawsuit claims that defendant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. knew that there is little to no evidence that glucosamine hydrochloride reduces the pain of osteoarthritis, while glucosamine sulfate has been show in studies to reduce the pain of osteoarthritis, particularly in knees. The false supplement advertising class action lawsuit claims that it some cases, glucosamine sulfate has shown to be as effective as Tylenol and non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medication.

Allegedly, Walmart intentionally misrepresents the supplement, both on the product’s labeling and on the company website to dupe consumers into purchasing an ineffective product for higher than its true value. The four women claim that they would not have purchased the supplements at all had they known their true ingredients.

The plaintiffs seek damages and equitable relief for themselves and all similar affected consumers, and assert that Walmart has violated state consumer protection laws, breached warranties, engaged in negligent misrepresentation, and unjustly enriched itself at the expense of its customers.

According to the federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, dietary supplements like glucosamine are classified as food. The Walmart glucosamine tablet class action lawsuit cites the FDCA’s regulation that foods are considered adulterated for the following reasons: “(1) If any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part omitted or abstracted therefrom; or (2) if any substance has been substituted wholly or in part therefor; or (3) if damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or (4) if any substance has been added thereto or mixed or packed therewith so as to increase its bulk or weight, or reduce its quality or strength, or make it appear better or of greater value than it is.”

The consumers claim that Walmart’s mislabeled glucosamine tablets are considered adulterated based on all four of the FDCA’s qualifications. They also allege that the supplements meet the FDCA’s description of a mislabeled product, and note that the FDCA explicitly prohibits the sale of adulterated and misbranded products, and that based on these regulations, Walmart’s sale of their allegedly mislabeled glucosamine tablets is unlawful.

The plaintiffs are represented by Eric S. Johnson, Paul J. Hanly, Jr. and Mitchell M. Breit of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC; and Gregory F. Coleman, Mark E. Silvey, Adam A. Edwards and Lisa A. White of Greg Coleman Law PC. 

The Walmart Mislabeled Supplement Class Action Lawsuit is Cynthia Parker, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 4:18-cv-00465, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.