Vitafusion Class Action: PreNatal Vitamins Put Pregnant Women at Risk

A California mother claims the folate content in Vitafusion PreNatal multivitamins is dangerously high, and higher than the content indicated on the label.

Plaintiff Karolina Ochoa says the amount of folate in Vitafusion PreNatal Multivitamin Gummy vitamin supplement dangerously exceeds the amount indicated on the product’s label. The alleged mislabeling poses a particular risk for pregnant women, she claims.

“By failing to label the folic content of its Product accurately, Defendant violates state and federal laws for dietary supplements, state consumer protection laws, and sells a Product that is potentially dangerous to both women and their unborn children,” Ochoa claims.

Vitafusion PreNatal multivitamins has been made by defendant Church & Dwight Co. Inc. since 2012, when the company bought Avid Health Inc. Ochoa says Church & Dwight is one of the largest manufacturers of household goods in the U.S., with an estimated worth of over $3.5 billion. She says Church & Dwight promotes Vitafusion as the “#1 Adult Gummy Vitamin Brand.”

According to Ochoa, pregnant women can benefit from increasing their intake of the B vitamin folate. During pregnancy, folate can help prevent neural tube defects that can lead to severe malformations of the baby’s brain and spinal cord. Low folate intake during pregnancy is also linked to preterm delivery, low birth weight, and fetal growth retardation.

Ochoa cites recommendations from the Institute of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health that say pregnant women should consume 600 micrograms of folate per day.

It’s possible to overdo it, though. An excess of folate can lead to anemia and cognitive symptoms, and it can accelerate precancerous developments in certain individuals, Ochoa says. Excess folic acid supplementation in pregnant mothers may increase the risk that their child will be born with autism.

For that reason, the National Institutes of Health say that adult pregnant women should not exceed an Upper Tolerable Intake Limit of 1,000 micrograms of folate per day. Intake that exceeds this limit has “severe consequences,” Ochoa claims.

The folate content in Vitafusion PreNatal multivitamins exceeds that upper limit, Ochoa states.

According to this Vitafusion class action lawsuit, the “Supplement Facts” section on the product’s label says that each two-gummy serving contains 800 micrograms of folic acid. But according to Ochoa, independent testing reveals that each serving actually contains between 1,100 and 2,047 micrograms – more than twice the upper limit recommended by the National Institutes of Health.

Ochoa’s claims echo those brought in another Vitafusion class action lawsuit, filed in an Illinois federal court in March 2017. In that action, plaintiff Daniel Chavez alleges Vitafusion supplements contain as much as three times the amount of folate stated on the label. The excess of folate is dangerous for any adult, not just pregnant women.

Ochoa seeks to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all persons in the U.S. who purchased Vitafusion PreNatal Multivitamin Gummy vitamin supplement during the applicable statutory limitations period. She also proposes a California subclass to cover Class Members who purchased the product in California.

She seeks restitution and disgorgement of profits, compensatory and punitive damages, as well as reimbursement of her costs of litigation. She also seeks a court order barring Church & Dwight from labeling its product deceptively.

The Vitafusion Folate Supplement Misbranding Class Action Lawsuit is Ochoa v. Church & Dwight Co. Inc., Case No. 5:17-cv-02019, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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