Lawsuit Alleges Honey Bunches of Oats Sweetened By Sugar, Not Honey

Two plaintiffs have filed a putative class action alleging Post Consumer Brands sweetens its Honey Bunches of Oats cereals with “sugar, corn syrup, and other processed substances, and [they] contain only miniscule amounts of honey.” Lima v. Post Consumer Brands LLC, No. 18-12100 (D. Mass., filed October 5, 2018). The complaint lists the alleged risks of consuming sugar to argue that Post intentionally misleads consumers into believing that Honey Bunches of Oats is healthful by implying that it is sweetened only or primarily by honey. “A product branded ‘Honey Bunches of Oats’ that pictorially conveys cereal being covered with honey and a bee in flight hardly means to a reasonable consumer that the product is mostly sweetened with sugar or other processed substances or, moreover, that it contains only a miniscule amount of honey,” the complaint asserts. The plaintiff alleges violations of consumer-protection statutes in 35 states and seeks damages and attorney’s fees.