General Mills Lawsuit Claims Annie’s Fruit Snacks ‘Made with Real Fruit Juice’ Are Falsely Advertised

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges General Mills has misrepresented its line of Annie’s fruit snacks as “Made with Real Fruit Juice.”

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The 15-page General Mills lawsuit contends that the prominent “Made with Real Fruit Juice” claim misleads consumers into believing the Annie’s fruit snacks are sweetened entirely, or at least primarily, with fruit juice. However, contrary to this representation, the items are sweetened only with concentrates and other added sugars, the suit asserts.

The case takes issue with each flavor variety of Annie’s fruit snacks, including, at least:

• Berry Patch Bunny;
• Bernie’s Farm (strawberry, orange and raspberry);
• Bees, Bugs & Butterflies (strawberry, raspberry and apple);
• Minis Bunny (strawberry, mango and cherry);
• Tropical Treat;
• Summer Strawberry; and
• Building Blocks.

According to the General Mills complaint, the first four ingredients listed by volume for each flavor are rice syrup, cane sugar, tapioca syrup solids and pear juice concentrate—all of which are added sugars, not fruit juice. The filing notes that concentrates, such as the pear juice concentrate found in the products at issue, are derived from fruit juices but are considered added sugars by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because the filtration and extraction process they undergo removes the fiber and most of the nutrients they contain.

“What remains is a thick, concentrated syrup consisting primarily of sugar,” the Annie’s lawsuit adds.

The allegedly deceptive representation of the fruit snacks—which the case argues is intended to entice consumers interested in products sweetened with fruit juice, rather than added sugars—renders the items misbranded under state law, the suit charges.

The Annie’s fruit snacks lawsuit looks to represent anyone who, in the past four years, purchased any of the products listed on this page in California for personal or household use, and not for resale.

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