High-Sugar Ensure Nutrition Drinks Falsely Advertised as Healthy, Class Action Claims

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Abbott Laboratories faces a proposed class action that claims its Ensure-brand “Nutrition” drinks are misrepresented as balanced, nutritious and healthy due to their high sugar content.

The 44-page case alleges Abbott’s Ensure Nutrition drinks are falsely marketed with health and wellness claims, such as “#1 Doctor Recommended Brand,” “Complete, Balanced Nutrition for everyday health,” and “Recommended 2 bottles per day as part of a healthy diet,” given that the products contain between nine and 22 grams of added sugar. Abbott wrongly conveys to consumers that its products offer health benefits, specifically for immune, heart and digestive health, despite evidence that excessive sugar consumption detrimentally harms health, the filing contends.

The case claims that the following products are misleadingly labeled: 

• Ensure Original Nutrition Shake;
• Ensure Complete Nutrition Shake;
• Ensure Enlive Advanced Nutrition Shake;
• Ensure Compact Therapeutic Nutrition Shake;
• Ensure Clear Nutrition Drink; and
• Ensure Original Nutrition Powder.

According to the complaint, scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages can lead to health problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, there is evidence that sugary drinks weaken the immune system and impair digestive health by harming the gut barrier, the case stresses.

As the suit asserts, authorities like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend significantly limiting or cutting out sugar-sweetened beverages from diets.

Furthermore, a proposed FDA rule states that products with more than 2.5 grams of added sugar per serving cannot be labeled “healthy.” The FDA explains that this limit would help consumers make healthier, more informed choices at the grocery store, and align the “healthy” label claim with current nutritional science and federal dietary guidelines. With nine to 22 grams of added sugar, the Ensure Nutrition drinks do not meet these “healthy” standards, the lawsuit alleges.

The case argues that Abbott’s health and wellness representations can confuse the “average and reasonable consumer” who is “unaware” of the effect a high-sugar diet can have on their health. Labels like “Doctor Recommended” are also misleading given reasonable consumers “would not expect doctors to recommend products not backed by scientific evidence of their benefits, or products likely to harm health,” the case argues.

Per the complaint, the company is “well aware” of consumer health trends, which show that buyers seek out and are willing to pay more for products labeled as healthy, yet has continued to highlight its Ensure Nutrition drinks’ purported benefits without warning of the “detrimental health consequences” of consuming them.

“Abbott continues to leverage consumer confusion to increase its profits at the expense of consumers’ health,” the suit alleges. 

The case claims that the false and misleading labels on Ensure Nutrition drinks violate the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and its California and New York state law equivalents, which prohibit the misbranding of any food.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased, for personal or household use, and not for resale or distribution, any of the Ensure Nutrition drinks listed on this page in the past four years.

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