Mantikas ex rel. Situated v. Kellogg Co.
910 F.3d 633 (2018)
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Rule of Law:
A product label can be misleading to a reasonable consumer, in violation of consumer protection laws, if a prominent front-of-package claim creates a deceptive impression, even if other, less prominent statements on the package are technically true.
Facts:
- Kellogg Company ('Kellogg') produces and sells a variety of Cheez-It crackers.
- Kellogg marketed and sold Cheez-It crackers labeled as 'whole grain'.
- One version of the packaging featured 'WHOLE GRAIN' in large print on the front, with 'MADE WITH 5G OF WHOLE GRAIN PER SERVING' in smaller print.
- Another version featured 'MADE WITH WHOLE GRAIN' in large print on the front, with 'MADE WITH 8G OF WHOLE GRAIN PER SERVING' in smaller print.
- The primary ingredient in these crackers was enriched white flour, not whole wheat flour, which was listed second or third on the side-panel ingredients list.
- Kristen Mantikas, Kristin Burns, and Linda Castle purchased these 'whole grain' Cheez-Its.
- The purchasers believed, based on the front-of-box labeling, that the grain content of the crackers was predominantly whole grain.
- The purchasers asserted they would not have bought the product had they known that enriched white flour was the primary grain ingredient.
Procedural Posture:
- Kristen Mantikas, Kristin Burns, and Linda Castle (Plaintiffs) filed a class action complaint against Kellogg Company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
- The complaint alleged false and misleading labeling in violation of New York and California consumer protection laws.
- Kellogg Company filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).
- The district court granted Kellogg's motion, holding that a reasonable consumer would not be misled by the labels.
- A final judgment was entered in favor of Kellogg Company.
- The Plaintiffs (appellants) appealed the district court's judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
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Issue:
Does a product's front-of-package label stating it is 'whole grain' or 'made with whole grain' plausibly mislead a reasonable consumer, in violation of state consumer protection laws, when the product's primary grain ingredient is actually enriched white flour, even if the packaging also discloses the specific gram amount of whole grain per serving and lists the ingredients accurately on a side panel?
Opinions:
Majority - Leval
Yes. A product label stating it is 'whole grain' can plausibly mislead a reasonable consumer when the product's primary grain ingredient is not whole grain. The court reasoned that a prominent, front-of-package claim like 'WHOLE GRAIN' creates a reasonable expectation that the grain content is predominantly, if not entirely, whole grain. This misleading impression is not cured by smaller print disclosing the specific gram amount per serving, as this information does not clarify the ratio of whole grain to refined flour. Furthermore, a reasonable consumer is not expected to scrutinize the ingredients list on the side of the package to correct a misleading representation made in large, bold type on the front; rather, the ingredients list is expected to confirm, not contradict, such representations.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces the 'reasonable consumer' standard in false advertising claims, emphasizing that the overall context and net impression of a label matter more than the literal truth of individual statements. It establishes that companies cannot use prominent, potentially misleading health-related claims on the front of packaging and then rely on fine print or a side-panel ingredients list as a complete defense. This precedent lowers the pleading standard for plaintiffs in similar food-labeling cases, making it easier for such claims to survive a motion to dismiss by focusing on the plausible interpretation of the primary marketing message.
