That’s It Fruit Bars Class Action Says Ingredient List is Misleading

That’s It Nutrition LLC has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the company falsely advertises its fruit and vegetable bars.

Lead plaintiff Anthony Medina alleges in his class action lawsuit that he and other consumers are tricked into thinking that the fruit and vegetable bars contain whole fruits and vegetables that are processed into the final product.

“In other words, the message is that defendant or any manufacturer was responsible for taking the whole intact fruit, washing it, dicing or chopping it, then mashing it together to form the final bar, so that the product can credibly attest that it contains ingredients identified by a collective name,” the That’s It class action lawsuit states.

However, according to the That’s It fruit bars class action lawsuit, the That’s It products are not actually made of whole fruits and vegetables converted by the manufacturer into the final food product. Instead, alleges the plaintiff, That’s It uses processed fruits and vegetables, including powders and juices, as well as dehydrated produce to manufacture their fruit and vegetable bars.

“If defendant began the bar production process with whole intact fruits, the ingredient list would indicate the presence of an additional binding ingredient such as a gel, pectin, juice concentrate or syrup, needed to keep the individual fruit matter together,” points out the That’s It nutrition bars class action lawsuit,

Medina alleges that the That’s It products, including fruit and vegetable bars, fruit and spice bars, and chocolate covered fruit, are misleading labeled to trick the consumer into thinking they are manufactured from fresh, whole fruits and vegetables.

However, “[n]either defendant nor any of its manufacturing partner[s] in a desert environment possesses the ability, technology, equipment and expertise to process whole apples, whether delivered from an orchard or cold storage,” alleges the That’s It class action lawsuit. “As a result, the Products contain ingredients which have already been subjected to various levels of processing and transformation such that designating them by their collective name is misleading.”

Consumers like the plaintiff are tricked into paying a premium for the That’s It products because of the misleading labels that make consumers think that the bars are processed from whole fruits and vegetables. The plaintiff says he and other consumers paid no less than $1.99 each for the products.

“Defendant and/or any production partners did not convert the ingredients into the form that they were ultimately incorporated into the Products,” alleges the That’s It class action lawsuit. “Instead, defendant uses various specific processed forms of the various ingredients and denotes them by a collective name, i.e., ‘apples.’”

The plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased That’s It products, as well as a New York subclass. Medina says that That’s It Nutrition’s labeling practices violates New York business laws and constitutes fraud, breach of warranty, and unjust enrichment.

Medina is seeking monetary damages as well as an injunction against That’s It Nutrition directing the company to correct its allegedly false advertising.

The plaintiff is represented by Joshua Levin-Epstein of Levin-Epstein & Associates PC, and Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The That’s It Fruit Bar False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Medina v. That’s It Nutrition LLC, Case No. 1:18-cv-02022, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.