Nature Valley Class Action Says Granola Bars Contain Herbicide

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against General Mills for selling Nature Valley granola bars even though they contain a harmful herbicide.

The complaint asserts that these granola and breakfast bars “contain oats that, in turn, are tainted by the presence of the unnatural biocide and chemical glyphosate.”

According to the class action, glyphosate is a “potent synthetic herbicide” that is linked to several health risks.

The complaint cites a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer that found glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen.”

The class action also claims that  “compelling scientific evidence” has found that “even at low dosage levels, [glyphosate] compounds can cause liver and kidney damage.”

The Nature Valley herbicide class action lawsuit contends that even though it knows “no reasonable health conscious consumer would knowingly and voluntarily ingest glyphosate given its reported health risks,” General Mills continues to spray this substance on its oat fields.

The complaint asserts that General Mills does this for “desiccation,” a process used to dry out the plants “in order to produce a faster and more uniform harvest – thereby increasing yields, and ultimately, profits.”

Not only does General Mills continue to use glyphosate herbicides, the class action argues, but it hides this fact from consumers and labels its Nature Valley products as containing “100% natural whole grain oats.”

According to the complaint, this labeling is false and deceptive, because the oats “are tainted in their harvesting process with the potent unnatural biocide glyphosate.”

Plaintiffs James Carroll Scott, Nesha Ritchie, and Gabriel Adkins each state that they have purchased Nature Valley products in the past year.

The plaintiffs claim that they purchased those products because “they believed and expected them to be free of synthetic and unnatural compounds.”

Scott, Ritchie, and Adkins all assert that had they known the Nature Valley products contained “the unnatural biocide glyphosate, in any quantity,” they would not have purchased those products.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of “all persons who purchased Nature Valley Products from a retail location within the United States.”

The class action alleges that the products tainted by glyphosate include Nature Valley crunchy granola bars, trail mix chewy granola bars, sweet and salty nut granola bars, breakfast biscuits, biscuits, oatmeal squares, oatmeal bars, and oatmeal bistro chips.

The complaint requests refunds and damages from General Mills, as well as an injunction stopping them from continuing its deceptive practices.

This is not the only class action General Mills is facing over its Nature Valley granola bars containing glyphosate.

Last month, a class action filed in New York alleged that General Mills falsely advertised Nature Valley granola bars as “made with 100% whole grain oats.”

This New York class action similarly alleges that the advertising is misleading and deceptive because the oats contain the synthetic substance glyphosate.

The plaintiffs are represented by Stephen R. Basser and Samuel M. Ward of Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, John Emerson and David Scott of Emerson Scott LLP and Christopher D. Jennings of Johnson & Vines PLLC.

The Nature Valley Oat Herbicide Class Action Lawsuit is James Carroll Scott, et al. v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 5:16-cv-02090, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern Division.