Fit Snacks Protein Bars Falsely Advertised as Healthy, Class Action Claims

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action claims Alani Nutrition, LLC has misleadingly advertised Fit Snacks Whey Protein Bars as healthy in that the product contains high levels of fat.

The 35-page case says the Fit Snacks products—including the Chocolate Cake, Peanut Butter Cup, Peanut Butter Crisp, Cookies and Cream, Munchies, Fruity Cereal, Confetti Cake, Blueberry Muffin, or any other limited, discontinued, or seasonal flavors—are positioned by Alani as healthy protein bars that consumers “won’t feel guilty about.” The suit claims, however, that it is misleading to market the products as “healthy,” or with the synonymous term “fit,” when most varieties of Fit Snacks bars contain around six grams of fat.

The lawsuit argues that Alani’s advertising of the Fit Snacks bars violates the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits certain products from being advertised as healthy when they contain more than three grams of fat.

“As a purveyor in the highly lucrative protein bar market, Defendant knows that when it comes to labeling and marketing, words matter,” the lawsuit reads. “This is why Defendant chose to name the Products ‘FIT’ Snacks, and to emblazon the word ‘FIT’ on the front and center of each Product label, in a bold all-capitalized font, where consumers cannot miss it.”

According to the suit, the term “fit” used on the products’ principal display panel is synonymous with “healthy” as consumers understand it. Per the case, however, the FDA has specified that companies cannot use the term “healthy” or its synonyms on food labels unless the item has three grams of fat or less. Alani Nu’s Fit Snacks, the complaint says, have “well over” this amount, and fail to meet the other thresholds for determining whether a food can be labeled as healthy, which includes when they are not low in fat but contain mostly mono- and polyunsaturated fats or at least 10 percent of the daily value per reference amount customarily consumed of potassium or vitamin D.

The lawsuit contends that consumers would not have purchased the Fit Snacks protein bars had they known they were “mislabeled and falsely advertised products.”

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s newsletter here.