Kellogg’s faces lawsuit over lack of real strawberries in Strawberry Pop-Tarts

A class-action lawsuit is being filed against Kellogg’s by plaintiff Anita Harris claiming that the company is falsely advertising by labeling its Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts as containing “strawberry,” according to a report from NBC 10 Philadelphia. 

The lawsuit asks Kellogg’s to ensure it has more accurate labeling and seeks over $5 million in damages over the false advertisements.

Harris filed the lawsuit in late August and claims that Kellogg’s is designing Pop-Tarts advertisement to “give consumers the impression the fruit filling contains a greater relative and absolute amount of strawberries than it does,” reports NBC 10. 

Kellogg’s highlights strawberries in its advertising with phrases such as “timeless yet yummy” flavor of strawberries and its packaging showcases online recipes on how to make strawberry shortcake, which makes strawberries appear as the “categorizing ingredient” in the product, NBC 10 reported.

Yet dried strawberries are not on the product’s list of ingredients until the “contains 2 percent or less” section appears where strawberries are listed alongside other fruits, including dried apples and pears.

The plaintiff also highlighted that Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts include a synthetic food dye known as Red 40, which is used to make the product’s filling appear “bright red, like it is only strawberries or has more strawberries than it does,” reports NBC 10. 

Kellogg’s in response to The Hill said it does not comment on pending litigation. 

The lawyer who is representing Harris, New York attorney Spencer Sheehan, said that the lawsuit’s goal is to ensure Kellogg’s maintains more accurate product labeling while speaking with TODAY Food. 

According to NBC 10, Sheehan — who has represented clients in other lawsuits of the same vein involving King’s Hawaiian Rolls and Kraft’s Bagel Bites — said of the lawsuit, “If it doesn’t have mostly strawberries, if it’s mostly pears, then you know, just call it pear Pop-Tarts.”