I Heart Keenwah Class Action Says Quinoa Puffs Are Rice-Based

Snack food company I Heart Foods Corp. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging it misleads consumers into believing its quinoa snacks are made up mostly of quinoa when they actually include a higher amount of rice flour.

Plaintiff Russell Ransom filed the deceptive marketing class action lawsuit last week in New York federal court. He challenges the labeling and marketing of I Heart Keenwah quinoa puffs, which are sold in stores and online.

According to the class action lawsuit, quinoa is a type of pseudocereal that is grown for its edible seed. It has become increasingly popular because it is not made from genetically modified organisms, it is gluten-free, it is nutritionally dense and does not require much water to grow.

Ransom, who lives in Kings County, N.Y., says he purchased I Heart Keenwah products for no less than $4.99, a premium price compared to similar products. He says he relied on the label indicating the product contained high protein content for a snack food.

He points to labeling on the back of the product which highlights the benefits of quinoa and calls it “the little seed that’s a naturally complete source of protein with all 9 essential amino acids.” The label also calls the quinoa puffs “the mindful munchie,” leading consumers to believe the snacks contain many of the health benefits of quinoa.

“These representations gave plaintiff the reasonable impression that the Product consisted exclusively of quinoa and that the high protein content was obtained from quinoa,” the I Heart Keenwah class action lawsuit says.

On the list of ingredients on the back of the label, quinoa flour is listed first, giving the impression that quinoa flour is the main ingredient. However, the next two listed ingredients are forms of rice flour, meaning the products likely include nearly twice as much rice as quinoa.

According to the quinoa puffs class action lawsuit, if quinoa was actually the main product in the puffed snacks, the product would not have the “puff” quality. The rice flour ingredients allow for a “crispier product,” Ransom alleges.

The I Heart Keenwah quinoa puffs also include pea protein concentrate, which Ransom says are meant to increase the amount of protein in the product to make up for the lack of quinoa.

“The representation, description and identification of the products as ‘Quinoa Puffs’ and the protein claims are false and misleading,” the I Heart Keenwah class action lawsuit says. “No reasonable consumer would expect a product represented as such to be a plain, puffed rice ball, with its relatively high protein content derived from ‘pea protein concentrate’ and containing a relatively low amount of actual quinoa-based ingredients.”

Ransom filed the I Heart Keenwah class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed Class of consumers in the United States and in New York State who purchased any of the challenged quinoa puffs snacks during the applicable statute of limitations period.

Ransom is represented by Joshua Levin-Epstein of Levin-Epstein & Associates PC and Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The I Heart Keenwah Quinoa Puffs Class Action Lawsuit is Russell Ransom v. I Heart Foods Corp., Case No. 1:18-cv-01465, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.