belVita Biscuit Buyers Seek to Keep Sugar Content Class Action Alive

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Plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit accusing Mondelez Global LLC of falsely labeling its allegedly sugar-laden belVita breakfast biscuits as healthy have urged a California federal judge not to dismiss their case.

In their Jan. 29 motion, plaintiffs Patrick McMorrow, Marco Ohlin and Melody DiGregorio asked U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez to deny Mondelez’s motion to dismiss the belVita class action lawsuit. They claim the food manufacturer was wrong to argue that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim.

“When Mondelez introduced the belVita Products, its stated goal was to appeal to consumers interested in health and wellness,” the plaintiffs say.

Mondelez primarily used its product labels to appeal to consumers, claiming that the company “worked closely with nutritionists to design a new kind of breakfast biscuit” that is supposedly “wholesome,” “part of a balanced breakfast,” and provides “nutritious steady energy.”

According to the belVita class action lawsuit, these claims were made with the purpose of convincing consumers that the belVita breakfast biscuits are healthy, when they are actually loaded with sugar. The plaintiffs assert that the added sugar makes up as much as 24 percent of the calories of the belVita breakfast biscuits, and amount that can allegedly tax the liver and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver disease, and other significant health risks.

The plaintiffs maintain that they have plausibly alleged that Mondelez’s labeling claims are misleading to reasonable consumers, and point to studies that have shown that statements suggesting a product is healthy or wholesome are misleading when those products contain high levels of added sugar.

Mondelez has claimed that the challenged phrases on the product label constitute puffery and that reasonable consumers would not have relied on the health claims when choosing to purchase the belVita breakfast biscuits. The plaintiffs disagree, pointing to case law indicating that consumers are most likely to rely on health-related claims when deciding which products to purchase.

According to the Mondelez class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs purchased the belVita breakfast biscuit products regularly, believing they were making a healthy choice based on the representations on the products’ labels. They claim that they would not have purchased the products, or would not have paid as much for them, if they had known that the health claims on the label were misleading.

The belVita class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and breach of express and implied warranties.

The plaintiffs filed the belVita breakfast biscuit class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a proposed Class of California consumers who purchased the products.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jack Fitzgerald, Trevor M. Flynn and Melanie Persinger of The Law Office of Jack Fitzgerald PC, and by Paul K. Joseph of The Law Office of Paul K. Joseph PC.

The belVita Breakfast Biscuit Sugar Content Class Action Lawsuit is Patrick McMorrow, et al. v. Mondelez International Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-02327-BEN-JLB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: On March 9, 2020, a California federal judge denied Class certification in a belVita lawsuit, taking issue with the proposed Class’ damages model.