If you purchased Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, Smart Start, or Frosted Mini-Wheats cereals between August 29, 2012 and May 1, 2020, You May Be Entitled To Receive a Cash Refund From A Kellogg’s Cereal Class Action Settlement.
Kellogg Sales Company (“Kellogg”) has reportedly agreed to a class action settlement of a class action lawsuit filed against it in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, styled as Hadley et al. v. Kellogg Sales Co., Class Action Case No. 16-cv-4955-LHK (N.D. Cal.), alleging, among other things, that Kellogg violated certain laws in labeling certain breakfast cereals with claims that made the products seem healthy, when they were in fact unhealthy due to their high added sugar content. Kellogg reportedly denies that it did anything wrong.
Who Is Included In The Kellogg’s Healthy Cereal Class Action Settlement?
The Kellogg’s Healthy Cereal class action settlement reportedly includes, unless otherwise excluded, the following settlement class:
All persons in the United States who, between August 29th, 2012 and May 1st, 2020 (the “Class Period”), purchased in the United States, for household use and not for resale or distribution, one of the Class Products.
Eligible Kellogg Class Products in the class action settlement include:
- Kellogg’s Original Raisin Bran and Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch cereals in a package stating “heart healthy.”
- Kellogg’s Smart Start Original Antioxidants cereal in a package stating “heart healthy” and/or “lightly sweetened.”
- Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size (Original, Maple Brown Sugar, Strawberry, or Blueberry varieties), Big Bites (Original variety), Little Bites (Chocolate or Cinnamon Roll varieties), or Touch of Fruit in the Middle (Mixed Berry and Raspberry varieties) cereals in a package stating “lightly sweetened.”
What Settlement Benefits Does The Kellogg’s Healthy Cereal Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Provide?
Under the Kellogg’s lawsuit settlement, Kellogg has agreed to create a $13 million dollar, non-reversionary Settlement Fund to pay all Settlement Expenses, including the costs of Class Notice and Administration, attorneys’ fees and costs, service awards for the Class Representatives, and Cash Awards for Class Members who make claims.
Kellogg’s Healthy Cereal settlement class members who make claims will reportedly be entitled to monetary compensation, on a pro rata basis, depending on which and how many boxes of cereal they purchased during the Class Period. According to the settlement notice, the estimated average Cash Award will be approximately $16.09.
Claim forms can be submitted online or via mail. The deadline to submit a claim is September 7, 2021.
The Kellogg cereal settlement also provides for certain injunctive relief whereby Kellogg has agreed to make certain changes to the labeling of the class products, including:
- “Heart Healthy.” So long as more than 10% of their calories per serving come from added sugar, Kellogg will remove or modify references to heart health on Smart Start and Raisin Bran as follows:
- Smart Start. In approximately November 2019, Kellogg removed and, for a period of no less than one (1) year after June 15th, 2021, will not use any heart health references on Smart Start’s packaging.
- Raisin Bran. Starting in approximately April 2020, Kellogg limited, and for a period of no less than one (1) year after June 15th, 2021, Kellogg will continue to limit any “heart health” claims on Raisin Bran’s packaging to approximately the bottom half of the
principal and reverse display panels. In so doing, Kellogg will not increase the size of any “heart health” claim beyond what was in use relative to a given box size during the Class Period.
- “Healthy.” Except as set forth above with respect to “Heart Health” claims on Raisin Bran, for a period of no less than one (1) year from June 15th, 2021, so long as more than 10% of their calories per serving come from added sugar, Kellogg will use the term “healthy” on the Class Products only consistently with 21 C.F.R. § 101.65(d)(ii), i.e., in connection with an explicit or implicit claim about a nutrient of the type required to be labeled in the Nutrition Facts Box.
- “Lightly Sweetened.” In approximately December 2019, Kellogg removed, and, for a period of no less than one (1) year from June 15th, 2021, will not use the term “lightly sweetened” to describe Frosted Mini-Wheats and Smart Start cereals, so long as more than 10% of their calories per serving come from added sugar.
- “No High Fructose Corn Syrup.” For a period of no less than one (1) year after June 15th, 2021, Kellogg will not use the statement, “No High Fructose Corn Syrup” (or any equivalent phrases, such as “No HFCS,” or “made without high fructose corn syrup”) on any Class Product, so long as more than 10% of its calories per serving come from added sugar.
- “Wholesome,” “Nutritious,” and “Benefits.” For a period of no less than one (1) year after June 15th, 2021, Kellogg will only use the words “wholesome,” “nutritious,” or “benefits” (and variations, such as “wholesomeness,” “nutrition,” or “beneficial”) on the Class Products in connection with a specific ingredient or nutrient, and shall not use those words to describe any Class Product as a whole, so long as more than 10% of its calories per serving come from added sugar.
Where Can You Obtain More Information About The Kellogg’s Healthy Cereal Class Action Settlement?
For more information about the Kellogg’s Cereal class action settlement, write to Hadley v. Kellogg Sales Co. Class Administrator P.O. Box 5098 Baton Rouge, LA 70821, call (844) 907-1160, submit an email to info@CerealClaims.com or visit the Kellogg cereal class action settlement website at https://cerealclaims.com/