Putative Class Alleges Deceptive Labeling of Fruit and Vegetable Snack Bars

A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging That’s It Nutrition deceptively labels and advertises its snack bars’ ingredients by using collective names for the fruits and vegetables they contain. Medina v. That’s It Nutrition, LLC, No. 18-2022 (E.D.N.Y., filed April 4, 2018). The complaint alleges that That’s It fruit bar labels list generic names rather than specific ingredients; for example, one bar’s label lists “apples” without specifying whether the ingredient is apple powder, puree or some other processed form of the fruit. “If the defendant began the bar production process with whole intact fruits, the ingredient list would indicate the presence of an additional binding ingredient such as a gel, pectin, juice concentrate or syrup, needed to keep the individual fruit matter together,” the complaint asserts.

The label representations, which include “That’s it,” “All Natural,” “No Preservatives,” “Raw,” “No Purees or Juices,” “2 ingredient snack,” “Just Fruit” and “Fruit is all we use,” “promote the products as being directly made from ingredients which have been converted into the final product” instead of being highly processed, the complaint alleges. Claiming violations of New York consumer-protection laws, breach of warranties, fraud and unjust enrichment, the plaintiff seeks class certification, injunctive relief, monetary damages and attorney’s fees.