General Mills Sued for Touting the Health Benefits of Fruit Roll-Ups

In recent years, General Mills' fruit snack products like Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit By The Foot and Gushers began featuring labeling that touted their nutritional benefits. Now a lawsuit has been filed against them, accusing the company of false advertising for portraying the products as health foods.

AdWeek reports that The Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that General Mills is guilty of misleading the public about the nutritional benefits of eating the fruit flavored snacks. The lawsuit points out the packaging which contains terms like "low fat", "gluten free", "low calorie", "naturally flavored", and a "good source of Vitamin C."

The lawsuit says:

"Defendant's Fruit Snacks contained trans fat, added sugars, and artificial food dyes; lacked significant amounts of real, natural fruit; and had no dietary fiber. Thus, although the Products were marketed as being healthful and nutritious for children and adults alike, selling these Fruit Snacks was little better than giving candy to children."

This is not the first time General Mills has been sued for the way it markets its fruit snacks. Last year, a Brooklyn woman sued, calling the foods "dangerous" and "unhealthy". It's also not the first time that General Mills has been scolded by the government -- two years ago the FDA demanded they stop insinuating on Cheerios packaging that the cereal has cancer preventing qualities.