Tag: chocolate
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Chocolate Lawsuit Preempted by FDCA, Court Rules
An Illinois federal court has dismissed a lawsuit alleging Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc. misled consumers by describing its ice cream bars as coated in milk chocolate when the chocolate contained coconut oil. Zurliene v. Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc., No. 21-0747 (S.D. Ill., entered March 17, 2022). The complaint, brought under the Illinois Consumer Fraud…
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Consumer Challenges Cocoa Content in 70% Cacao Bars
A consumer has filed a projected class action alleging Mondelez International Inc.’s Green & Black’s chocolate packaging misleads as to the product’s cacao content. Lee v. Mondelez Int’l Inc., No. 22-1127 (S.D.N.Y., filed February 9, 2022). The labels indicate that the products are 60%, 70% or 85% cacao, but “the back labels uniformly reveal that…
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“Fudge-Covered Oreos” Missing Real Fudge, Alleges Plaintiff
A consumer has alleged that Mondelez Global LLC misleads consumers by marketing its Oreo Fudge Cremes as “fudge covered” because the topping covering the cookies lacks milkfat. Leonard v. Mondelez Global LLC, No. 21-10102 (S.D.N.Y., filed November 28, 2021). The complaint lists several recipes for fudge to support its argument that fudge requires the presence…
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Candy Company Misrepresents Number of Servings, Plaintiffs Allege
Kilwins Quality Confections Inc. sold chocolate and other candy products in containers that “materially overstate the volume of the contents,” according to a plaintiff. Rand v. Kilwins Quality Confections Inc., No. 21-1513 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., filed March 18, 2021). The consumer argues that the company’s shredded-chocolate containers “materially overstate the actual volume of, and…
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Plaintiff Alleges Whole Foods Chocolate Is Mislabeled
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging Whole Foods Market Group Inc. mislabels its chocolate-coated ice cream bars because the “purported chocolate contains vegetable oils.” Mitchell v. Whole Foods Mkt. Grp. Inc., No. 20-8496 (S.D.N.Y., filed October 12, 2020). “Consumers want chocolate in chocolate products to come from a real source, i.e., from…
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FDA Finds Milk Allergens in Dark Chocolate Samples
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the results of a study examining 52 dark chocolate products, determining that four of the products had potentially hazardous levels of milk allergens. “The agency found the 12 samples from the four products to have milk allergen levels ranging from 600 ppm to 3,100 ppm,” the…
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FDA Issues Consumer Update on Milk Allergies and Dark Chocolate
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an update for consumers on its 2018 study examining milk allergies and dark chocolate. “U.S. law requires manufacturers to label food products that are major allergens, as well as food products that contain major allergenic ingredients or proteins,” the update notes. “Allergens contained in a food…
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Plaintiff’s Attorneys Shift Focus to Malic Acid, Vanilla, White Chocolate
Labeling class action filings focused on purportedly misleading ingredient labels tend to come in waves, and 2019 saw a surfeit of lawsuits targeting vanilla, white chocolate and malic acid. Several plaintiffs alleged that they were misled by products listed as vanilla-flavored because, they argued, they believed they were buying products flavored with vanilla beans rather…