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Is there anything more delicious than a Pop-Tart after a long night out? There's a reason they are the pastry choice of low-effort breakfast lovers all over the world. However, according to a recent lawsuit, there's simply not enough strawberry in Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts. That's right! Read on to find out why...
Strawberry Pop-Tarts With No Strawberry?
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No questions asked, Pop-Tarts are undoubtedly enjoyable. However, since the so-called "toaster pastries" (does anyone actually toast them?) are not exactly bursting with jelly fillings, every single drop of filling counts! That certainly explains a recent class-action lawsuit, which claims that Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts barely contain any strawberry. That's right! Or, at least, not enough to call them "Strawberry" Pop-Tarts.
In the lawsuit, filed in Illinois, plaintiff Anita Harris alleges that Kellogg's claims are incredibly misleading, at the very least. And perhaps illegal at worst! Why? Well, she says, "they give consumers the impression the fruit filling contains a greater relative and absolute amount of strawberries than it does." According to the filing, strawberries seem like the breakfast pastry's "characterizing ingredient." However, looking at the actual ingredients list, it's easy to see that there are almost no strawberries in the product. Instead, strawberries fall into the "contains 2-percent or less" section! There, the berries mingle with other minimal ingredients, like salt, dried apples, and dried pears.
"Based on a quantitative estimate and analysis of the filling, it appears to or may even contain more non-strawberry fruit than strawberry ingredients," the lawsuit goes on to say. "To give consumers the false impression that the Product contains a greater absolute and relative amount of strawberries than it does, it contains red 40, a synthetic food coloring made from petroleum. Red 40 makes the strawberry-pear-apple combination look bright red, like it is only strawberries or has more strawberries than it does."
But that's not all the lawsuit has to say...
Giving Consumers False Impression
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To prove their point, Harris and her legal team pointed to two other toaster pastry brands in the filling: Great Value from Walmart and Clover Valley from Dollar Tree. In both cases, the boxes clearly list the products as "Naturally & Artificially Flavored." The filing alleges that, since Pop-Tart does not make a similar distinction on its boxes, it gives the brand a "competitive advantage."
Kellogg, the company that owns Pop-Tars, "sold more of the Product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers." Therefore, as a result, plaintiff Anita Harris has not only asked for the suit to receive class-action status, but for Kellogg to also change the Pop-Tart boxes. Finally, as you might have guessed, they also want monetary compensation.
Yahoo! News reached out to Kellogg for a statement, but the company declined to comment "due to the ongoing nature of the litigation." Will Kellogg need to change the boxes, or, perhaps, even change the recipe of Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts? Only time will tell, but we'll be watching this case closely!
Sources: The Takeout, Yahoo! News Life
