Garden of Life faces lawsuit over dangerous lead levels in organic plant-based protein

Garden of Life class action overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Ann-Marie DeHerrera filed a class action lawsuit against Garden of Life LLC.
• Why: DeHerrera claims the company falsely advertised its Organic Plant-Based Protein products as being safe, even though they contain unsafe levels of lead.
• Where: The Garden of Life class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

A new class action lawsuit claims Garden of Life falsely advertised its Organic Plant-Based Protein products as being safe, even though they contain unsafe levels of lead.

Plaintiff Ann-Marie DeHerrera claims Garden of Life falsely represented its Organic Plant-Based Protein products as being “clean and certified” and “rigorously tested for banned substances,” even though they contain “excessive and dangerous levels” of lead.

“Defendant deceptively marketed and labeled the product as safe while concealing and failing to disclose that the product [contains] dangerous concentrations of lead,” the Garden of Life class action lawsuit says.

DeHerrera wants to represent a California class of consumers who purchased Garden of Life Organic Plant-Based Protein products within four years prior to the filing of the class action lawsuit.

Garden of Life Organic Plant-Based Protein products allegedly contain 5x recommended daily lead limit

DeHerrera argues that, according to a Consumer Reports investigation, a single serving of Garden of Life Organic Plant-Based Protein products contains 2.76 micrograms of lead, which she claims is roughly 564% of the publication’s recommended daily lead limit.

Lead is a well-documented neurotoxin that poses serious risks to public health, DeHerrera claims, arguing that the levels of lead contained in the company’s Organic Plant-Based Protein products far exceed thresholds considered safe by public health experts.

“Exposure to lead causes irreversible harm,” the Garden of Life class action lawsuit says. “It impairs cognitive development, reduces IQ, causes behavioral disorders and learning disabilities in children and increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and long-term cardiovascular, renal and neurological conditions in adults.”

DeHerrera claims Garden of Life is guilty of unjust enrichment and breach of implied warranty and violated the Consumers Legal Remedies Act and California’s Unfair Competition Law.

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs.

Earlier this year, Garden of Life faced three class action lawsuits alleging it failed to properly secure customers’ personally identifiable information, leading to a data breach that exposed sensitive payment card data.

Have you ever purchased Garden of Life Organic Plant-Based Protein products? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Charles C. Weller of Charles C. Weller APC.

The Garden of Life class action lawsuit is DeHerrera v. Garden of Life LLC, Case No. 5:25-cv-03118, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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