MusclePharm Essentials BCAA Calorie Content Information Class Action

This class action alleges that MusclePharm Corporation makes products that either omit any mention of calories on their nutritional labels or misstate their calorie content as zero. The products at issue are nutritional powders that contain branched-chain amino acids called Essentials BCAA which supposedly offer “ideal amounts” of certain amino acids to aid in the development of muscles and a lean body.

A class and a subclass have been defined for this class action:

• The Nationwide Class is all persons who bought the product in the US, between May 12, 2018 and the present.
• The Maryland Subclass is all natural persons who bought the product in Maryland between May 12, 2018 and the present.

The product comes in a number of flavors, including Blue Raspberry, Watermelon, Lemon Lime, Grape, Orange Mango, and Unflavored.

The complaint alleges that the Essentials BCAA product is one of a number of products from MusclePharm “which have similarly, purposely misbranded calorie content of ‘zero Calories,’ or which omit caloric information altogether from their respective nutritional labels.” In reality, the complaint alleges, the calorie count is about thirty calories, depending on the formulation and guidance for use. The complaint alleges that this violates federal law and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (MCPA).

The Code of Federal Regulations requires that nutritional labeling show calories counted to the nearest five calories. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers different methods for estimating calories, several of which are listed in the complaint. The FDA considers calories to be a “Third Group” nutrient, that is, one associated with health concerns, like saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium. Also, the actual number of calories may not be more than 20% over the labeled number.

The complaint makes reference to examples of labeling at the FDA website, which it says “remove any possibility of misunderstanding of the guidance given…”

The complaint alleges that independent testing conducted on the product showed approximately 401 calories per 100 grams of product. If one serving is about 7.5 grams, the complaint says, that means around 30 calories per serving, which is “significantly more” than the “zero calories” that are either advertised for the product or implied by the omission of any calories listed on the product.

Pages 8 and 9 of the complaint show images of the front and back of the container, including the Supplement Facts panel and some marketing information associated with the product. The Supplement Facts panel does not list any calories, and an “About this item” set of bullet points promises that it “contains zero calories[.]”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Breach of warranty, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels, Fraud