Nowadays, health-conscious parents are looking for healthy foods for their children and themselves, and companies know that portraying their snack foods as healthy will increase sales and allow them to charge higher prices. The complaint for this class action alleges that Annie’s, Inc. falsely attempts to portray its “Summer Strawberry” Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks as healthy and made from fruit, when in fact they contain no strawberries at all.
The class for this action includes all persons within the US who bought Annie’s strawberry fruit snacks, at any time from August 1, 2011 to the present. A subclass has also been proposed of persons from the above group within the state of California.
The complaint contends that Annie’s tries to project an image of health and goodness, for example with the statement, “Our mission is to cultivate a healthier and happier world by spreading goodness through nourishing foods, honest words and conduct that is considerate and forever kind to the planet.”
Annie’s labels the front of its “Summer Strawberry” Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks with the words “fruit snacks,” “summer strawberry,” and “natural flavors” and the claim that the product is “Made with Goodness!” However, the complaint alleges, the product does not contain any strawberries at all. The ingredients listed on the back include tapioca syrup, pear juice from concentrate, can sugar, tapioca syrup solids, citrus pectin, citric acid, sodium citrate, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), natural flavors, sunflower oil, carnauba wax, and colors (black carrot, blackcurrrent extracts).
The complaint makes several allegations. First, since the product is so prominently advertised as being “strawberry” fruit snacks, the complaint claims that it is legally obliged to display the true percentage of strawberries on the front label.
Second, it claims that the product is not only deceptive but misbranded, under both federal and California laws.
Third, it claims that the product is not healthful, because the pear juice is simply another form of sugar, so that the product contains 11 grams of sugar for a 23 gram serving. It quotes the Center for Science in the Public Interest as saying, “Unfortunately for parents and kids, phony fruit snacks don’t always contain the fruits advertised on the front of the box and never in the quantities suggested. Instead, companies use relatively cheap, nutritionally void, and highly processed pear, apple, and white grape juices, making phony fruit snacks much closer to gummy bears than actual fruit.” The complaint claims that 23 grams of fresh strawberries contain only 1.12 grams of sugar, so that parents who believe the product is primarily strawberries are serving their child ten times the amount of sugar they expect.
Fourth, Annie’s boasts that the product contains “100% DV of vitamin C,” which the complaint claims leads parents to believe that the vitamin C comes from strawberries. However, the complaint says, there are no strawberries in the product and the vitamin C is added.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Annie’s “Summer Strawberry” Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks Complaint
August 1, 2017
The complaint for this class action alleges that Annie’s, Inc. falsely attempts to portray its “Summer Strawberry” Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks as healthy and made from fruit, when in fact they contain no strawberries at all. It charges that the product is deceptive, misbranded, and not healthy because it contains ten times the amount of sugar as real strawberries do.
annie_strawberry_complaint.pdfCase Event History
Annie’s “Summer Strawberry” Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks Complaint
August 1, 2017
The complaint for this class action alleges that Annie’s, Inc. falsely attempts to portray its “Summer Strawberry” Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks as healthy and made from fruit, when in fact they contain no strawberries at all. It charges that the product is deceptive, misbranded, and not healthy because it contains ten times the amount of sugar as real strawberries do.
annie_strawberry_complaint.pdf