Lawsuit: Kellogg’s Finds Itself In A $5M Jam Over Pop-Tarts Filling

Kellogg’s (K) has found itself in the middle of a class-action lawsuit over the strawberry-flavored filling in its Pop-Tarts.

Anita Harris filed the class-action lawsuit against Kellogg’s in a Southern District of Illinois Court, claiming the company misled consumers promoting and marketing the strawberry filling as containing “a greater relative and absolute amount of strawberries than it does,” USA Today reported.

According to the lawsuit, Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts contain 2% or less “dried strawberries, dried pears, dried apples” and “red 40” as listed on the nutrition label, according to USA Today.

Harris claims in her suit that Americans are choosing to eat strawberries because they are “one of the highest levels of nutrient density of all fruits” and “an excellent source of vitamin C, necessary for immune and skin health,” Fox News reported.

Because the Pop-Tarts contain pears and apples, they are not providing this high degree of health benefit, Harris claims in the lawsuit, which was obtained by TMZ.

The complaint goes on to claim that the Pop-Tarts “cannot provide a true strawberry taste” because it has “significant amounts” of “pears and apples,” and the red 40 food coloring gives consumers a “false impression” that more strawberries are in the pastries, USA Today reported.

Harris contends that if she would have known the truth about the Pop-Tarts, she would have never bought them, citing that they violate the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

"Reasonable consumers must and do rely on a company to honestly identify and describe the components, attributes, and features of the Product,” Harris added, according to Fox News.

The lawsuit also maintains that while Kellogg’s competitors make similar products, they list them as “Naturally & Artificially Flavored.”

Harris is seeking $5 million in damages.

In a statement to Fox News, Kellogg’s said “it does not comment on pending litigation.”

As of Monday premarket hours, shares of Kellogg's were trading at $62.00, up 12 cents or 0.19%.