David Protein Bars Contain More Calories and Fat Than Advertised, Class Action Alleges

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A class action lawsuit alleges that David Protein uses unlawful and deceptive labels that misrepresent its protein bars as containing fewer calories and less fat than they actually contain.

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The 46-page class action lawsuit contends that Linus Technologies, Inc., which does business as David Protein, misleads consumers into believing its protein bars are healthier than they actually are by claiming on the front label and nutrition facts panel that the bars contain only 150 calories, 2 grams of fat and three percent of the daily value for total fat. The case claims that David Protein “uniformly communicated” this falsehood across its packaging and marketing materials and that the protein bars contain “significantly more” calories and total fat than the product packaging conveys.

The products at issue in the lawsuit include David Protein’s Chocolate Chip Cookie, Cinnamon Roll, Fudge Brownie, Red Velvet, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk, Blueberry Pie, Pumpkin Spice and Cake Batter protein bars.

According to the complaint, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits six methods for calculating the calorie content of food products. Of these methods, the Atwater factors are “widely” used and assign 4 calories per gram of carbs, 9 calories per gram of fat, and 4calories per gram of protein, the suit relays.

Additionally, the case explains that the amount of total fat in a food is typically calculated using the appropriate method from the Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC International—in this case, method AOAC 945.44.

These methods are used to ensure that food producers accurately represent the nutritional content of their food, the lawsuit says.

According to the complaint, independent testing commissioned by the plaintiffs at an FDA-accredited laboratory, using the Atwater factors and AOAC 945.44, indicated that David protein bars contain anywhere from 78- to 83-percent more calories and 368- to 400-percent more fat than the labels represent.

In fact, testing allegedly found that David protein bars contain anywhere from 263 to 275 calories and between 11 and 13.5 grams of fat per bar—an amount that the case says is remarkably higher than the advertised 150 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving.  

The suit argues that David Protein advertised and prominently displayed “demonstrably false” claims about the number of calories and total fat content of its bars to entice consumers to pay a premium for the protein bars compared to products not bearing the same claims. The lawsuit says David Protein markets the bars as “superior to, better than, and more nutritious” than other protein bars, while consumers lack the ability to verify that these claims are false.

Many Americans are health conscious and “routinely rely” on a food product’s nutrition facts panel when determining which items to purchase, the suit says. The case points out that conscientious consumers on diet plans “measure (and try to limit)” the number of calories and total amount of fat they consume. Indeed, “almost all” diets include reductions in calories and fat intake, the lawsuit says.

The case elaborates that excessive consumption of calories and fat can contribute to a multitude of health problems, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and certain types of cancer.

Accordingly, the suit argues, the number of calories and amount of total fat in a product “directly affect the perceived value of the product.” The lawsuit says that consumers are willing to pay a premium for healthier products and that David Protein took full advantage of this willingness to “increase its sales and retain more profits.” Had the labels been accurate, the case posits, consumers would not have been willing to pay as much or bought the products at all.

The David Protein class action lawsuit seeks to cover all individuals who purchased David Protein products for personal use, not for resale, within the United States during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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