General Mills ‘Slack-Fill’ Lawsuit Filed Over Allegedly Air-Filled Cereal Boxes

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that General Mills has deceived consumers by packaging its Fruity Cheerios cereal in oversized boxes containing bags that are filled mostly with air, known as “slack-fill.”

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The 13-page false advertising lawsuit contends that General Mills has scammed consumers by selling a product packaged with more empty space and less cereal than buyers are led to believe. Specifically, in the case of the Fruity Cheerios box bought by the plaintiff, the suit relays that the product’s internal plastic bags are filled to only a “little [sic] more than half of their capacity” with cereal.

This is because the packaging contains a significant amount of “slack-fill,” the case continues, which consumers cannot see or feel as the outer cardboard box is stiff and opaque.

Related Reading: PopCorners Lawsuit Claims Snack Bags Filled with ‘Unlawful’ Amount of Empty Space

Consumers, the complaint explains, rely heavily on product packaging and labeling before the point of purchase, and often make the fair assumption that the size of a product’s container will be proportionate to the amount of product they will receive. Because General Mills used a box much larger than necessary for the amount of cereal within it, the case claims, consumers were preyed upon as they believed the package would be full.

“Even if consumers had a reasonable opportunity to review, prior to the point of sale, other representations of quantity, such as net weight or serving disclosures, they did not and would not have reasonably understood or expected such representations to translate to a quantity product meaningfully different from the size of the package,” the case argues.

Though there are statutory exceptions to slack-filled products as far as product protection and insulation purposes, the complaint relays that the empty space in the Fruity Cheerios box is “nonfunctional” as the contents of the product would not be damaged or affected in its absence.

The plaintiff, a California resident, purchased a box of Fruity Cheerios out of a genuine desire to try the cereal and because they are a consumer rights tester who investigates products to ensure compliance with California law.

The General Mills slack-fill class action lawsuit looks to represent all individuals who purchased Fruity Cheerios in California during the four years prior to filing of the lawsuit.

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