Class Action Says Nature Valley Granola Bar Labels Are Misleading

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A proposed class action contends that the label of Nature Valley Oats ‘n Honey granola bars is misleading since the product contains ingredients other than oats and honey and less honey than consumers are led to expect.

According to the 17-page complaint, the label of Nature Valley Oats ‘n Honey granola bars tells consumers that the product contains two ingredients—oats and honey—and that honey is the primary and/or a significant sweetening agent. The lawsuit, citing the product’s ingredients list, claims that these label representations are “false and/or misleading” since the granola bars are primarily sweetened with sugar, which is listed as the second ingredient after whole grain oats.

Per the suit, honey is listed fifth on the Nature Valley granola bars’ ingredients list, after rice flour and before salt. The case argues that the amount of honey in the product is “negligible.” 

Further, the complaint says that the images of oats and honey on product labels are misleading since the granola bars also contain other ingredients. 

“It is misleading to promote a product as made with certain limited ingredients, even where an ingredient list will contain all ingredients,” the lawsuit argues. 

According to the filing, there exists “no commercial or technological barrier to formulating a granola bar which only contains oats and honey.” 

“Given the brand name of ‘Nature’s Valley,’ consumers will expect the granola bar to be made with only oats and honey, because these are natural ingredients, from nature,” the lawsuit says. 

The case states that according to “back-of-the-envelope calculations,” honey accounts for roughly two percent of the product’s weight. Moreover, the suit relays that defendant General Mills Sales, Inc. sells an almost identical product in European markets, where a disclosure on product labels states that the granola bars contain two percent honey. 

The lawsuit argues that the granola bars are worth less than what consumers paid for the product. 

The lawsuit looks to cover consumers in Illinois, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia, Kansas, North Dakota, Iowa, Mississippi and Utah who bought Nature Valley Oats ‘n Honey granola bars within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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