In yet another in the never ending line of food “false labeling” lawsuits by consumers, a New Yorker is suing Whole Foods over graham crackers.
The lawsuit claims that the packaging of Whole Foods’ “Organic Honey Graham Crackers” misleads consumers into believing that the crackers are (a) made from mostly whole-grain flour, whereas the primary ingredient is refined white flour; and (b) are sweetened mostly with honey, whereas the primary sweetener is alleged to be sugar. The federal court in New York denied Whole Foods’ motion to dismiss, concluding that the plaintiff had made out a plausible claim that consumers would be misled by the packaging. Whole Foods argued that if the consumer checked the ingredients list on the side of the box, they would see, from the order in which the ingredients were listed, that neither whole wheat flour was the primary ingredient nor was honey the primary sweetener, but the Court rejected the argument. The case is Campbell v. Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., Docket No. 1:20-cv-01291 (S.D. N.Y.) (filed Feb. 13, 2021).