Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips Contain Less Whole Grain Than Advertised, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action alleges Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips are falsely advertised in that they contain less whole grain flour than consumers are led to expect.

The 16-page lawsuit claims that the name of the product and the chips’ dark brown color suggest to buyers that the snack contains mostly rye flour. According to the suit, however, the most predominant ingredient in the chips is enriched flour, which the case says is not as nutritious as whole grain and offers less fiber.

According to the case, defendant General Mills Sales, Inc. has been able to sell more of the Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips, and at a higher price, than it would have in the absence of the allegedly misleading labeling.

The lawsuit states that consumers value whole grain rye flour, which contains the whole rye kernel, over enriched flour, which contains only the endosperm with some added nutrients, because it is generally viewed as healthier. Moreover, whole grain rye provides 24 grams of fiber per 100 grams, while non-whole wheat flour provides only 2.4 grams, the case says.

Thus, consumers expect that a product represented as made with whole grain flour will provide a significant amount of fiber, the complaint argues.

The lawsuit claims that although the Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips are represented as made with rye flour, they contain a “de minimis” amount of rye flour, which ranks second to enriched flour in the product’s ingredients list.

As the suit tells it, the fact that the snack provides only one gram of fiber per serving and contains added caramel color to darken the chips indicates that the product is made with mostly white flour.

The case contends that reasonable consumers rely on manufacturers to “honestly and lawfully market and describe the components, attributes, and features of a product, relative to itself and other comparable products or alternatives.” Per the case, General Mills misrepresented the Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips as containing more whole wheat than it actually does, and thus sold consumers a product that was worth less than its represented value.

The suit says that consumers would not have purchased the Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips, or would have paid less for the snack, had they known the truth about the product’s whole grain content.

The case looks to represent anyone in Illinois, Iowa, Arkansas, Wyoming, North Dakota and Utah who purchased the Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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