Starbucks, Target Accused of Using Contaminated Lyons Magnus Products Despite Health Risks Brought to Light by Recall

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Another proposed class action case filed over the contamination of several Lyons Magnus products with a potentially harmful bacterium alleges Starbucks and Target “continued to use” the since-recalled milk alternatives and protein shakes despite the known health risks. 

The 24-page lawsuit more specifically alleges Starbucks and Target, whose stores sometimes have a Starbucks café within, continued to use certain Lyons Magnus products in their preparation of food and beverages despite knowing of the risk that the Cronobacter Sakazakii bacterium with which the items were contaminated could cause serious health issues, especially in the very young, elderly and immunocompromised. 

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“Defendants Starbucks and Target should have stopped their use of the Recalled Lyons Magnus Products given the recall of the mentioned Products,” the suit states. “Despite the recall of Defendant Lyons Magnus Products, Defendants Target and Starbucks continued to use the products in their preparation of food and beverages.”

Per the suit, the Cronobacter Sakazakii bacterium was found to have contaminated Lyons Magnus products under the Oatly, Stumptown, Lyons Care, Pirq Plant, Glucerna, Intelligensia, Aloha, Kate Farms, and Premier Protein brands, among others. The recalled products were touted as able to “support health,” and as “nutritional” alternatives to other products, such as dairy, the case states. 

On July 28 of this year, Lyons Magnus and Tru Aseptics voluntarily recalled 53 products due to their potential contamination. The recall was expanded on August 10 to include additional items that Lyons Magnus said might also be contaminated. 

The FDA and Centers for Disease Control have declared Cronobacter Sakazakii harmful to all persons, the filing says, noting that many of the recalled items are “marketed to vulnerable persons, particularly those seeking a health supplement, children, elderly, and the immunocompromised.” 

The plaintiff, a Johnson County, Indiana resident, claims to have become ill after ingesting a recalled Lyons Magnus product in September. According to the suit, soon after consuming a Starbucks beverage containing Oatly oat milk at a café in a Target store, the plaintiff became ill enough to require hospitalization. Thereafter, the plaintiff was diagnosed with “bacterial and parasitic infections” because of her consumption of the defendants’ products, the lawsuit says. 

The case looks to cover all persons in the United States who bought any recalled Lyons Magnus product for household or business use, and not for resale. 

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