Target Class Action Says Up & Up Biotin Supplements are Falsely Labeled

A California man says the label claims on Target’s biotin supplements are “false, misleading and reasonably likely to deceive the public.”

Plaintiff Todd Greenberg alleges the biotin supplements sold by defendant Target Corp. under the Up & Up brand are falsely labeled with promises of health benefits that Target can’t back up with scientific evidence.

The products also use levels of biotin so high as to be metabolically superfluous, making consumers pay for vastly more product than they need, he claims.

According to Greenberg, biotin is a B vitamin involved in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates and amino acids. It’s found naturally in many different kinds of fruits, vegetables and meats.

Greenberg claims Target biotin supplements give consumers vastly more biotin than their bodies could possibly have a use for. The Institute of Medicine recommends 30 micrograms of biotin as a daily adequate intake, or AI. Most of the general population of the U.S. get at least that much biotin in their regular diet, Greenberg claims.

Greenberg says that in general, the human body needs only a finite amount of biotin on a daily basis. For healthy adults, any biotin consumed over that amount does not get used and does not confer any health benefits, he says.

But the Target biotin products at issue here contain biotin in dosages of 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 micrograms. At those levels, the products contain up to 300 times the recommended adequate intake of biotin, Greenberg claims.

“[T]hese mega-dose amounts are far beyond any conceivable range that would ever be beneficial,” he claims.

The only persons who can benefit from unusually heavy biotin supplementation are those who have extreme biotin deficiencies or who consume an unusual amount of egg whites, Greenberg says, both of which are rare circumstances.

In addition to selling consumers a superfluous dosage of biotin, Target can’t back up the claims of health benefits found on the product’s label, the lawsuit states.

The labeling on the Target biotin products at issue here claims they “help[] support healthy hair and skin.” Greenberg says these representations originate from studies of persons who suffered from actual biotin deficiencies, which cause hair loss and skin problems.

He claims that no studies support the assertion that biotin promotes hair and skin health in persons who don’t already have a biotin deficiency. Therefore the labeling on Target biotin supplements is false and misleading, he argues.

Greenberg proposes to represent a multi-state plaintiff Class that would include all persons who, within the applicable statutory limitations periods, purchased the Target biotin products at issue within the states of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

He seeks a court injunction requiring Target to stop the allegedly unlawful practices at issue and to set up a corrective advertising campaign. He also seeks an award of restitution and disgorgement of related revenues as well as reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation.

Greenberg is represented by attorneys Patricia N. Syverson, Manfred P. Muecke, Elaine A. Ryan and Carrie A. Laliberte of Bonnett Fairbourn Friedman & Balint PC and Stewart M. Weltman and Michael Chang of Siprut PC.

The Target Biotin Supplement Class Action Lawsuit is Todd Greenberg v. Target Corp., Case No. 3:17-cv-01862, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.