General Mills Sued Over Harmful Trans Fat Allegedly Found in Hamburger Helper

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General Mills faces a proposed class action that alleges the company elected to include harmful partially hydrogenated oil (PHO), i.e., trans fat, in Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper and Chicken Helper despite the availability of safer, low-cost alternatives. 

The 23-page suit alleges that General Mills added trans fat to Hamburger Helper between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2016 (the class period) even though the toxin and carcinogen had long been considered unsafe to be added to food. Per the lawsuit, the FDA formally declared PHO unsafe in 2015 after years of research showed that trans fats pose a significant health risk. 

According to the case, it is well established that trans fats can cause cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other general health and cognitive problems. The lawsuit alleges these risks were well known by General Mills during the class period, a time in which there existed no consensus that PHO was safe to use in general or in packaged foods. 

The complaint says that although General Mills claimed to be “reformulating” most of its products to eliminate PHO in the interest of public health, the company “simultaneously resisted the FDA’s efforts” to ban the use of PHO in foods. 

“General Mills’ use of PHO in Hamburger Helper was always unnecessary,” the case says. “There were several safe substitutes for PHO and artificial trans fat throughout the class period.” 

The filing alleges General Mills continued to use trans fats while competing manufacturers refrained from using the artificial ingredient “in order to increase profits at the expense of consumers’ health.” 

“While the addition of PHO to Hamburger Helper may have some utility to General Mills in that it allowed it to realize higher profit margins than safe ingredients, this utility is small and far outweighed by the gravity of the serious health harm General Mills inflicted upon consumers,” the case alleges. 

According to the lawsuit, Hamburger Helper purchased during the class period was not fit for human consumption.

The suit looks to represent all citizens of California who bought Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper and/or Chicken Helper containing partially hydrogenated oil in the state between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2016.

Initially filed in San Diego County Superior Court on February 23, the case was removed to California’s Southern District Court on March 28. 

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