Cocoa Puffs Lawsuit Claims Breakfast Cereal Contains ‘Dangerous’ Levels of Lead

A proposed class action out of California claims General Mills Sales, Inc. has failed to warn consumers that Cocoa Puffs breakfast cereal contains a “dangerous” amount of lead.

The 19-page Cocoa Puffs lawsuit contends that reasonable consumers are led to believe the cereal is safe to eat and does not contain harmful substances because there is no warning on product packaging about the presence of lead, exposure to which has been linked to decreased neurological function and other serious health risks.

The suit alleges that the undisclosed lead content renders the breakfast cereal “unfit for human consumption—and particularly unfit for children.”

According to the case, independent lab analysis has revealed that the amount of lead found in an average-size bowl of Cocoa Puffs exceeds the 0.5-microgram (mcg) maximum allowable dose level per day for lead established under California regulations.

Although testing showed that one cup of Cocoa Puffs contains 0.432 mcg of lead—below the regulatory maximum—a vast majority of consumers pour significantly more cereal per bowl than the recommended serving size, the complaint contests. In fact, a study by Consumer Reports found that most consumers exceed a cereal’s serving size by between 24 percent and 132 percent—and the Cocoa Puffs box itself displays an oversized serving of the cereal on its front label, the suit adds.

A bowl of Cocoa Puffs with 24 percent more than the recommended serving size contains 0.532 mcg of lead, the lawsuit says. At 132 percent more, the serving of cereal has 0.996 mcg of lead, virtually double the regulatory limit, the suit charges.

“There is no safe level of lead for children,” case emphasizes

As the complaint tells it, lead is dangerous even at low levels of exposure and has been shown to accumulate in the body over time, causing severe health concerns such as anemia, organ damage, seizures and even coma and death. But while lead exposure is doubtlessly harmful to adults, it is “particularly dangerous” to children, the filing stresses, adding that even small amounts of the heavy metal can mount up over time and affect a child’s developing brain and nervous system.

It is therefore troubling that Cocoa Puffs’ packaging is intentionally targeted at children, the lawsuit alleges. The front label’s imagery—which features, among other things, a cartoon of brand mascot Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, the cereal name in large bubble letters and the prominent phrase “Great Chocolatey Taste!” printed on a wave of chocolate milk—combines to appeal specifically to kids, the suit asserts.

Label warning? Far from it, complaint alleges

The case claims that Cocoa Puffs’ packaging, despite failing to mention the presence of lead, includes warnings that the cereal may contain wheat products and bioengineered food ingredients. The filing argues that these other disclosures lead consumers to believe that all potentially problematic aspects of the cereal have been shared, when, in fact, the alleged lead content has gone unacknowledged.

To make matters worse, General Mills represents that the product provides nutritional benefits through prominent front-label statements about the breakfast cereal’s calcium, whole grain and vitamin and mineral content, the fraud lawsuit contends. The suit charges that the representations are misleading based on the presence of lead in the cereal, which, according to the case, is misbranded under federal and state law and therefore illegal to sell in California.

Who’s covered by the lawsuit?

The Cocoa Puffs lawsuit looks to represent anyone in California who, in the past four years, purchased the breakfast cereal within the state and does not claim any personal injury from consuming it.

I’ve bought Cocoa Puffs. How do I join the lawsuit?

There’s nothing you need to do right now to join, sign up for or add your name to the class action lawsuit. Typically, the time to act is if the lawsuit settles, at which time the people covered by the deal—known as class members—may be notified directly by mail or email with an explanation of their rights and instructions on what to do next.

Be patient, because it can take months or even years for a class action to be resolved.

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