Class Action: Knudsen Sour Cream Contains 4 Times Calories, Fat as Label Claims

Kraft Foods Group Inc. was hit with false labeling class action lawsuit in a California court over its Knudsen Hampshire brand sour cream, alleging that it contains four times the calories, fat, sodium and sugar as the label claims.

Plaintiff Lawrence Appel says in his sour cream class action lawsuit filed Thursday that he bought Knudsen Hampshire sour cream at Costco in June and later learned that the nutrition facts describing the nutritional content in one half-cup serving is not accurate.

Appel says that he wants to be able to continue “to purchase sour cream in general, and would like to be able to purchase such products once they are accurately advertised, free of the threat of misbranded products.”

The Knudsen Hampshire Sour Cream label says that a half cup of sour cream includes 60 calories, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of sodium and one gram of sugar.

But Appel claims in his Kraft Foods class action lawsuit that a half a cup of sour cream actually contains 240 calories, 14 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of sodium and 4 grams of sugar.

The label says that the amount of saturated fat contained in a half a cup of the Knudsen sour cream is 18 percent of the recommended daily value, when in fact it contains 72 percent of the recommended daily value.

Appel says that he is looking to represent a class of individuals who have purchased Knudsen Hampshire Sour Cream from a California store that includes the alleged false information.

The Knudsen sour cream class action lawsuit says that Kraft has violated California health and safety codes which say that it is illegal “to disseminate false or misleading food advertisements that include statements on products and product packaging or labeling or any other medium use to directly or indirectly induce the purchase of food products.”

In addition, the sour cream class action lawsuit says that  Kraft has also violated the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, other California business laws, and breach of implied warranty.

A letter was sent to Kraft on July 8 by Appel, asking the company to change the label on its Knudsen Hampshire Sour Cream. He is asking the court to compel Kraft to do so with an injunction, if the company doesn’t make the label change on its own.

The class action lawsuit is also asking that Kraft provide restitution to those who purchased the sour cream with labels that included the alleged false information.

Appel is represented by Daniel L. Germain of Rosman & Germain LLP and David M. Cialkowski of Zimmerman Reed LLP.

Counsel information for Kraft was not available.

The Kraft Knudsen Hampshire Sour Cream Class Action Lawsuit is Lawrence Appel v. Kraft Foods Group Inc., Case No. BC587662 in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.