Publix Failed to Include Proper Nutrition Labeling on Bakery Goods, Class Action Claims

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Publix Super Markets, Inc. faces a proposed class action that claims the grocery store chain has violated food labeling laws by failing to affix required nutrition labels to its bakery goods.

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been stringently clear with regard to the rules for lawful food labeling, Publix has failed to meet these mandates as far as listing nutrition details on certain items sold in its bakery, the lawsuit alleges, claiming the defendant has “skirt[ed]” its responsibility to notify the public about the nutritional specifics of certain baked goods.

The case says Publix receives the dough for its bakery goods from either a third-party vendor or the grocer’s central location in Atlanta. Each Publix store then bakes the goods and places them in plastic containers on which the ingredients list and name of the product are stated, the suit relays.

Publix, however, has failed to affix a nutrition label to the back of each baked goods container, “thus violating the applicable FDA regulation and placing their customers at risk,” the case attests.

The suit goes on to argue that although some exemptions exist as to nutrition label requirements, “Publix is not exempt respecting their bakery goods.” Per the case, Publix is neither a “pure baker[y]” that produces its goods on site from scratch nor a ready-to-eat establishment, such as a restaurant or cafeteria, that sells products for immediate consumption on site.

According to the case, the FDA clarified in its 2013 “Guidance for Industry: Food Labeling Guide” that when food is not prepared for immediate consumption, e.g., when a bakery has facilities on site where consumers can sit and consume food on premises, nutrition labeling is required unless the food is “primarily processed and prepared on-site.” The FDA’s guidance also explains that for a food to be considered “primarily processed and prepared on-site,” it must be augmented in a way that changes its nutrient profile, such as filling, icing, enrobing or garnishing, the suit says. Moreover, the FDA has specified that if “pre-formed dough, pre-scaled/molded and par baked dough are merely proofed and baked or simply thawed,” the food is considered to be standardized and requires nutrition labeling, the complaint states.

The lawsuit argues that Publix, by failing to place nutrition labeling on its bakery goods, has misled consumers by marketing and selling misbranded food. Per the suit, the bakery goods purchased by consumers were of less value than if proper nutrition labeling had been attached.

The case looks to represent anyone in the U.S., with a proposed subclass of Alabama residents, who purchased Publix bakery goods that were not processed and prepared on site but were sold without nutrition labels.

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