Shredded Wheat Class Action: ‘Natural’ Cereal Contains Pesticide

A California plaintiff has launched a Shredded Wheat class action lawsuit alleging that manufacturer Post Foods LLC used deceptive marketing practices in selling the “natural” cereal.

The Shredded Wheat lawsuit holds that Post “aggressively advertises and promotes Post® Shredded Wheat Products (collectively ‘Shredded Wheat’) as ‘100% Natural Whole Grain Wheat’ and a ‘Natural Source of Fiber.'”

However, plaintiff Andy Wu argues that “these claims are false, deceptive, and misleading.” The text of his Shredded Wheat class action states that the wheat contains glyphosate, a synthetic pesticide.

The Shredded Wheat lawsuit alleges that because the wheat is grown with glyphosate it makes the cereal unnatural, therefore any marketing claims about being “100% natural” are misleading.

According to the lawsuit, last year the World Health Organization listed glyphosate as a probable carcinogen after a study performed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer noted “DNA damage to human cells” resulted from glyphosate exposure.

However, the Shredded Wheat lawsuit holds that Post knew that the wheat used in these products was raised with glyphosate, which most consumers would not regard as “natural.” The plaintiff claims that by labeling the cereal as “100% natural” Post engaged in marketing that is “false, deceptive, and misleading.”

The text of the Shredded Wheat lawsuit asserts that “Post Markets Shredded Wheat as a natural and healthy choice containing only ‘100% Natural Whole Grain Wheat'” in order to capitalize on consumer interest in healthy, natural foods.

“Consumers cannot discover the true nature of Shredded Wheat from reading the label,” the lawsuit states. “Consumers cannot discover the true nature of Shredded Wheat even by visiting Post’s website, which makes no mention of glyphosate. Discovery of the true nature of the ingredients requires knowledge of chemistry and access to laboratory testing that is not available to the average reasonable consumer.”

The complaint holds that many consumers would not have purchased the product in the first place because of the fact that it was raised with glyphosate. In addition, the Shredded Wheat class action holds that plaintiffs paid more for the product that they would have because of the claims that it was a natural product.

The text of the complaint points out that Post and its companies reported profits of more than $200 million in 2015 and that part of this is the result of these marketing claims concerning the naturalness of Shredded Wheat and other products. The class action lawsuit seeks restitution under a variety of California and federal laws regarding advertising.

Potential Class Members in the Shredded Wheat class action lawsuit include anyone in the U.S. who purchased Shredded Wheat based on the marketing claims of the cereal being a natural product.

The plaintiff is represented by Michael F. Ram of Ram, Olson, Cereghino & Kopczynski, LLP; and Beth E. Terrell and Erika L. Nusser of Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC.

The Shredded Wheat “Natural” Cereal Class Action Lawsuit is Andy Wu v. Post Foods LLC and Post Holdings Inc., Case No. 4:16-cv-03494, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.