Nature’s Path Granola Cereals Contain Unhealthy Levels of Added Sugar, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Nature’s Path Foods, Inc. has falsely advertised its granola cereals as healthy given the products contain high levels of added sugar, which is harmful to human health when consumed in excessive amounts.

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The 42-page lawsuit says that the packaging of the granola cereal—which comes in Coconut Chia, Pumpkin Seed + Flax, Vanilla Almond + Flax and Hemp Hearts varieties—claims that the product provides a “wholesome breakfast to nourish your day” and will “put you on a better path to a healthier lifestyle.” However, the suit alleges, studies show that consuming added sugar at the levels found in the granola products increases the overall risk of cardiovascular heart disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease and metabolic syndrome.

The products’ healthy representations are misleading, the case argues, because they contain between 7 and 9 grams of added sugar per serving, which constitutes between 10 and 14 percent of their calories. As the complaint tells it, nationwide studies have determined that adults who got between 10 and 24.9 percent of their calories from added sugar had a 30 percent higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those who got 5 percent or less of their calories from added sugar.

Moreover, according to the latest national dietary guidelines, a “healthy dietary pattern limits added sugars to less than 10 percent of daily calories,” noting that a healthy diet is “very difficult to achieve” when added sugars comprise more than 10 percent of a person’s daily calories, the filing relays.

The American Heart Association advises consumers to limit their added sugar intake to just 5 percent of their daily calories, the lawsuit says. Per the suit, this equates to 38 grams of added sugar per day for adult men, up to 25 grams for women and children over eight years old, and 12 grams for younger children. The case stresses that a single serving of Nature’s Path granola cereal—which contains up to 9 grams of added sugar per serving—therefore provides 18 to 23 percent of the daily limit for added sugar for men, between 28 and 36 percent for adult women and older children, and a shocking 58 to 75 percent for young children.

The complaint argues that Nature’s Path “intentionally” conceals material information regarding the increased risk of severe chronic disease that can result from consuming its products, particularly given the “tendency of consumers to eat more than one serving in a sitting.”

As the filing tells it, Nature’s Path reinforces the message that its products are healthy by “highlighting the more healthful ingredients” found in the granola and “ignoring or downplaying” the added sugar content. For instance, the lawsuit shares, the packaging of the Coconut Chia variety touts the cereal’s “nutrient-dense coconut and fiber-rich chia seeds,” while the Hemp Hearts variety—which includes “ALA Omega-3-rich flax seeds”—represents that it only contains “a touch of sweetness.”

Further, Nature’s Path allegedly violates California law because its products exceed the limits on fat and saturated fat content for foods that include a “healthy” claim on their labels, the suit explains. In order to use a term like “healthy” on its label, a food product must contain no more than 3 grams of total fat and 1 gram of saturated fat per serving, the case says. However, according to the complaint, one serving of Nature’s Path granola contains between 9 and 11 grams of total fat and up to 4 grams of saturated fat.

The plaintiff, a San Diego resident, has bought Nature’s Path Pumpkin Seed + Flax granola numerous times in the past three years, believing the defendant’s representations that the products were healthy, the filing says. The woman would not have purchased the granola had she known that it contained levels of added sugar that would be detrimental to her health, the case charges.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased any variety of Nature’s Path granola cereal for personal use and not for resale since March 22, 2019.

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