• On Monday, June 5, 2023, Saraya USA (Saraya) was denied its motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit that claimed it falsely advertises its granola as being “monk fruit sweetened” or “sweetened by monk fruit.”  U.S. District Judge Orrick found that it was possible for consumers to believe monk fruit was the sole or predominant sweetener, since “no other sweetener is mentioned on the front of label.”
  • In the complaint, the plaintiff Scott alleged that the granola product labels are deceptive because the granola is not entirely or predominantly sweetened with monk fruit and is instead predominantly sweetened with erythritol, which the complaint claims causes digestive problems and is linked to increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.  Monday’s order stated that, “Scott has plausibly alleged that these statements, read alongside the statements ‘sugar free,’ ‘no sugar added,’ or ‘zero sugar’ also appearing on the products’ front labels, would mislead a reasonable consumer to believe that they were solely or predominantly sweetened with monk fruit.”
  • Saraya, in its motion to dismiss, claimed that nowhere on the product label does it state the product is solely or predominantly sweetened by monk fruit, nor did it claim that the specific amount of monk fruit is in it.  Saraya also claimed the ingredient list specifically said the granola contained monk fruit sweetener, erythritol, and monk fruit extract.
  • Judge Orrick disagreed with Saraya’s argument, stating that, because no other sweetener was mentioned on the front of label, a consumer would reasonably be misled into thinking that monk fruit is the sole sweetener used.
  • Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on this case and similar class action challenges.