Mondelēz agrees to US$10M settlement over false labelling dispute
USA – Mondelēz International has agreed to a US$10M settlement with purchasers of its Wheat Thins snack brand, following a lawsuit that accused the company of falsely labelling the crackers as ‘100% Whole Grain’, despite their inclusion of corn starch, a refined grain.
The October 2022 complaint argued that whole grains are healthier than refined grains and that customers who bought Wheat Thins would not have purchased the crackers, or would have paid less, if they had known that the labels on Mondelēz’s products were misleading.
Customers with valid claims could receive refunds between US$4.50 and US$20.00 depending on the quantity of Wheat Thins boxes they bought, provided they kept the receipts.
The lawyers representing the purchasers may request up to US$3.33M from the settlement fund for legal fees.
A preliminary settlement for the nationwide class action lawsuit was filed yesterday in a federal court in San Francisco, US, and is subject to judicial approval.
The settlement applies to US purchasers of Original, Reduced Fat, Sundried Tomato & Basil, Big, Ranch, Hint of Salt, Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil, and Spicy Sweet Chili Wheat Thins featuring the ‘100% Whole Grain’ label, purchased since 13 October 2018
Any remaining funds will be donated to UCLA’s Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy and to Feeding America, a non-profit organisation focused on hunger relief.
Mondelēz denied any wrongdoing while agreeing to settle the case. It did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company has agreed not to use the whole-grain label on its Wheat Thins packaging unless it provides clarification of the claim.
This is not the first time that Mondelez is facing legal trouble or paying fines. Last year, the European Commission fined Mondelēz US$352.5M for restricting cross-border sales of its biscuits, chocolate and coffee products within the European Union.
In 2022, plaintiff C.K. Lee Mr. Lee alleged that the “70% cacao” and “85% cacao” claims on the front labels of Green & Black organic dark chocolate products are misrepresentations because the back labels refer to cocoa, cocoa powder and chocolate liquor instead of cacao.
He argued that cocoa is an “inferior and highly processed” derivative of the cacao bean that has been stripped of cacao’s health benefits, including antioxidants and heart-protecting properties
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