New Class Action Alleges Jimmy Dean Delights Not Made with As Much Whole Grain as Buyers Expect

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A proposed class action challenges the representation that Jimmy Dean-brand Delights turkey sausage, egg white and cheese breakfast sandwiches are made with an appreciable amount of whole grain given “enriched wheat flour,” and not whole grain wheat flour, is stated first in the product’s ingredients list.

The 14-page case in Illinois, echoing a case filed last October, claims the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches made by defendant Hillshire Brands Company are misleadingly labeled in that whole grain wheat flour comprises “slightly above two percent” of the total weight of the product’s English muffin. This amounts to a “de minimis” amount of whole grain, the suit says, noting the product contains only two grams of dietary fiber per serving and only five grams of whole grain, “consistent with a food with a de minimis amount of whole grain.”

As the Jimmy Dean Delights label is purportedly subject to USDA approval given the sandwiches contain egg, the product must contain “at least 8 grams” of dry whole grain ingredient per labeled serving size of the meat or poultry therein to make a valid whole-grain claim under USDA rules, the lawsuit relays. 

Per the suit, the fact that the Jimmy Dean sandwiches contain only five grams of whole grain indicates the product is well short of the amount necessary to be accurately labeled as “made with whole grain.” 

“Thus, the Product does not contain 8g whole grain per serving, nor is the bread part predominantly whole grain, despite the reasonable expectations that the ‘made with whole grain’ claim denotes a product with a least a minimum amount of whole grains,” the complaint alleges. 

As consumers have increasingly come to prefer whole grain foods, in circulation are more product labels that misrepresent the amount of whole grain a particular product contains, the lawsuit says. In practice, consumers, according to the FTC and FDA, are likely to perceive whole grain claims on a product’s label to mean the item is “predominantly whole grain,” the suit argues. 

According to the lawsuit, the marketing of Jimmy Dean “whole grain” Delights breakfast sandwiches is misleading given the bread portion contains “mostly non-whole grains and contains only a small amount of whole grains,” an aspect the case argues buyers may not be able to deduce from viewing the product’s label: 

“Other than the small print at the bottom of the side of the box indicating the product has 5 grams of whole grain per serving, no other context is provided for how much 5 grams of whole grain is, in relationship to the much larger amount of refined grain.” 

Hillshire Brands is familiar with marketing research and “knows that many of its customers purchase foods with whole grain claims because they believe such products are predominantly whole grain or contain a non-de minimis amount of whole grain,” the suit charges. According to the case, the value of Jimmy Dean Delights “whole grain” English muffin breakfast sandwiches was “materially less” than represented by Hillshire Brands. 

“Defendant sold more of the Product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers,” the case alleges. “Had Plaintiff and proposed class members known the truth, they would not have bought the Product or would have paid less for it.” 

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