Judge rules Simple Truth teething wafer class action can proceed over toxic metal claims

Update: 

• An Ohio federal judge ruled an amended class action lawsuit claiming Kroger and other grocery stores sold Simple Truth brand teething wafers contaminated with toxic metals can proceed. 
• The judge determined the complaint alleged specific facts for the claims and thus did not qualify as a “shotgun pleading.” 
• The Simple Truth class action lawsuit argues the Simple Truth Organic Rice Rusks Baby Teething Wafers contain dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury. 
• The judge dismissed with prejudice an earlier version of the complaint in September 2023, ruling the group of mothers behind the claims failed to meet various pleading requirements under state laws in Washington, Ohio, Indiana and Texas.

Kroger Simple Truth class action overview: 

• Who: Three parents sued Kroger and several of its subsidiaries.
• Why: The plaintiffs say the companies made and marketed a baby food product that contains dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals.
• Where: The Kroger Simple Truth class action was filed in an Ohio federal court.

(Sept. 23, 2022)

Kroger makes a baby teething wafer under the Simple Truth brand that contains dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiffs Tasheba Barnett, Adele Hoffman and Chadaela Lovincey filed the class action lawsuit against The Kroger Company and subsidiaries Harris Teeter LLC, Fred Meyer Inc. and Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. on Sept. 21 in an Ohio federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

According to the Kroger class action, the company’s Simple Truth Organic Rice Rusks Baby Teething Wafers contain dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury. 

Despite this, the product’s packaging conveys to parents it is “safe for infants and justify a premium price,” the lawsuit alleges.

“No reasonable consumer seeing the Products’ packaging would expect the Products to contain elevated levels of toxic heavy metals or other undesirable toxins or contaminants,” the Kroger Simple Truth class action states. “Furthermore, reasonable consumers, like Plaintiffs, would consider the quantity of toxic heavy metals or other undesirable toxins or contaminants a material fact when considering what baby food to purchase.”

Kroger class action alleges Simple Truth products can harm infant health

Arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury are toxic heavy metals whose ingestion poses risks to human health, the Kroger Simple Truth class action states. “There is no safe amount for a baby to ingest.” 

They can affect children’s neurological development, including permanent decreases in IQ, the plaintiffs allege. 

“Nowhere on the label or description of the Products are there any indication that it would or could be laced with toxic heavy metals, decidedly detrimental to a child’s health and well-being,” the Kroger class action states.

The plaintiffs look to represent a nationwide class of consumers who bought the product in the past four years, plus subclasses from Indiana, Texas and Washington. 

They sued under state consumer laws and for breach of warranty and unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs are seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

In related Kroger news, Kroger in March was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it fails to disclose the presence of lead in a number of its products, including its spinach with bacon salad kits and sweet peas and carrots.

Have you purchased this Kroger Simple Truth product for your baby? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. 

The plaintiffs are represented by Terence R. Coates and Dylan J. Gould of Markovits, Stock & DeMarco LLC; Nicholas A. Migliaccio of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP; and Gary Graifman of Kantrowitz, Goldhammer & Graifman PC. 

The Kroger Simple Truth class action is Tasheba Barnett, et al. v. The Kroger Co., et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-00544-DRC, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. 

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