Adapted Nutrition Keto K1000 Powders Contain Artificial Flavoring Class Action

Livwell Products, LLC, a maker of supplements, does business as Adapted Nutrition. It makes a series of Keto K1000 powders in various flavors that it markets as containing “Nothing Artificial.” However, the complaint alleges that this is a false claim, because the powders contain a synthetic ingredient, DL malic acid.

The Nationwide Class is all consumers throughout the country who bought the products between February 6, 2019 and February 6, 2023. A California Subclass has also been defined for those in the above class in California.

Consumers these days prefer to buy “clean label” products. The complaint cites a 2018 survey by L.E.K. Consulting that found that consumers prefer “clean” foods, with 69 percent committed to, or preferring to buy foods that had no artificial ingredients. According to the complaint, around 60 to 70 percent of consumers indicated they would pay more for “clean label” foods.

The Keto K1000 product comes in four flavors, lemonade, orange, raspberry lemon, and watermelon. Page 5 of the complaint shows the four Keto K1000 product containers, each of which is labeled as being “Replenishing & Rehydrating Electrolyte Powder.” The complaint describes them as being “marketed as supporting improved workout recovery and muscle protein synthesis; hydration levels; and increased blood flow and energy.”

A band around the top of the container proclaims that the products contain “Nothing Artificial.” However, the complaint alleges that after the company received the demand letter the plaintiff’s attorneys sent out before this case was filed, it changed that claim to read “Clean Ingredients.” The complaint alleges that claim still means the same thing to consumers as the “Nothing Artificial” claim.

In any case, the complaint alleges these claims are false because the product contains malic acid, a synthetic ingredient.

A natural form of malic acid does exist, the complaint admits, but “it is extremely expensive to formulate in large quantities and is almost never used in mass-produced food products. Instead, testing by an independent third-party laboratory has confirmed that the malic acid that [Adapted Nutrition] uses in these Products is DL malic acid, a synthetic substance derived from petrochemicals.”

According to the complaint, DL malic acid is made from benzene or butane, “through a series of chemical reactions, some of which involve highly toxic chemical precursors and byproducts.”

The complaint thus faults Adapted Nutrition, first of all, for labeling this flavoring that provides tartness by its generic name (“malic acid”) rather than by its specific name (“DL malic acid”).

Second, it faults Adapted Nutrition for indicating that the flavor is provided only by the named fruits or natural flavors. With quotations from federal laws, the complaint alleges, “If any artificial flavor is present which ‘simulates, resembles or reinforces’ the characterizing flavor, the front label must prominently inform consumers that the product is ‘Artificially Flavored.’”

California law also requires that the product have disclosures on both the front and back labels revealing artificial flavoring, the complaint alleges.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Contains synthetic ingredients, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels, Does Not Admit to Artificial Flavor on Labels