A class action lawsuit accuses food seller Nature's Path of misleading consumers by allegedly selling foods labeled as "high protein," without including actual protein content measurements on the product label.
"The primary protein source in Defendant’s products is wheat and oats," says the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.. "Wheat and oats are low quality proteins. Defendant’s products will provide nutritionally as little as 50% of the protein quantity claimed."
Also, the protein that is in the Nature's Path products is of low quality, but not labelled as such, the suit says.
"That information was material to reasonable consumers," it says. "Defendant’s unlawful and misleading protein claims caused Plaintiff and
members of the class to pay a price premium for Defendant’s breakfast and snack products."
Nature's Path does not disclose information about the digestibility of the proteins in their products, according to the lawsuit.
"A protein source’s digestibility also affects the amount of useable protein a person receives from consuming it," says he suit. "Plant-based proteins like wheat and oats are approximately 85% digestible, meaning 15% of the protein from those sources will simply pass through the body without ever being absorbed at all."
The lawsuit seeks "an order temporarily and permanently enjoining Defendant from continuing the unlawful, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices alleged in this complaint."
It also seeks money damages to be determined at trial and legal fees.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Seth A. Safier, Marie A. McCrary, Hayley Reynolds and Kali Backer, of Gutribe Safier LLP, of San Francisco.
Miller v. Nature's Path Foods, Inc., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 3:23-cv-05711