Larabar Class Action Lawsuit Says Ingredient List is Misleading

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A consumer says that Larabars’ ingredient list is misleading because it states that the bars contain just fruits and nuts, when one of the bars’ main ingredients are dates, which are high in sugar.

Plaintiff Barbara Evans has filed the Larabar ingredient class action lawsuit against Small Planet Foods Inc., the maker of Larabar.

She says that the company intentionally misrepresents its products as being healthy and low in sugar.

Allegedly, the inclusion of dates in the snack bars runs counter to the company’s claims that the products are healthy and natural, because dates are high in sugar and processed using citric acid, a preservative.

The Larabar class action states that Small Planet Foods intentionally advertises Larabars as containing just fruit and nuts to capitalize on consumers’ preference for natural foods.

Evans argues that consumers see products with natural ingredients like fruit and nuts as healthier.

Additionally, the Larabar class action lawsuit argues that consumers identify products as being “natural” in part if they have few ingredients listed on the package, because this has been associated with products being made with recognizable and not synthetic ingredients.

According to the Larabar ingredients class action lawsuit, a number of the bars made under the Larabar brand contain dates.

Allegedly, dates often make up a large percentage of what is listed as “fruit” under the ingredient list.

Evans says that this is misleading to consumers, because dates have a much higher sugar content than most fruits, and have long been used in candy, or considered as candy.

The Larabar ingredients class action lawsuit argues that when consumers seek out products containing fruit instead of candy, or containing fruit and not a lot of extra sweeteners, they assume that the product will contain a low amount of sugar and will be good for their health.

However, dates allegedly do not provide the health benefits of most fruits, because they are so high in sugar.

Evans argues that consumers purchase Larabars assuming that they are buying a product low in sugar, when in reality, they are purchasing a product high in sugar with fewer health benefits than other fruits.

In fact, Evans claims that the Larabar products can harm consumers because of their high sugar content.

The Larabar ingredient list class action lawsuit goes on to state that the ingredient list on Larabars is misleading in other ways.

The Larabar health bar class action lawsuit says that the ingredient list only mentions the fruits, nuts, and spices, or “whole ingredients” in the ingredient list.

However, the ingredient lists allegedly omit citric acid from the ingredient list. Citric acid is a allegedly a preservative used to preserve dates after they have been dried, and as dried dates are an ingredient in the bars, Evans argues that citric acid should be included in the ingredient list.

Evans claims that Larabar intentionally doesn’t include citric acid in the ingredient lists because consumers would be less likely to purchase the product if they knew that the bars contained a preservative.

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC, Joshua Levin-Epstein of Levin-Epstein & Associates PC, and by Larry Paskowitz of Paskowitz Law Firm PC.

The Larabar Ingredient List Class Action Lawsuit is Barbara Evans v. Small Planet Foods Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-06009, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.