Kellogg's sued, agrees to drop 'natural' label on some Kashi products

Top cereal company, Kellogg’s has agreed to stop using labels such as “All Natural” and “Nothing Artificial” on certain Kashi and Bear Naked products as a condition to settle a class-action lawsuit.

Filed in the U.S. District Court in California, the suit agreement also required Kellogg’s pay $5 million accusing Kashi of misleading consumers by labeling products “All Natural” or “Nothing Artificial” on products that contained numerous types of synthetic and artificial ingredients, NBC News stated.

Some of the unnatural ingredients present in Kashi and Bear Naked products include, calcium pantothenate (a form of vitamin B5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) and hexane-processed soy ingredients in some cereals and products, according to USA Today.

The Food and Drug Administration has yet to define the term “natural” in reference to food. According to the FDA website it is challenging to define a food product that is natural because more often than not the product has been processed and is “no longer a product of the earth.”

“[Kashi and Bear Naked] will make the decision to change our formulas on our labels by the end of the year,” Kellogg spokesperson Kris Charles said in a statement.

Yet, the statement said that Kellogg’s “stands by [their] advertising and labeling practices.”

A rising number of lawsuits against food companies claiming their ingredients are all natural has caused renowned brands like Frito-Lay chips to change its “Simply Natural” line to “Simply.” Similarly, Quaker changed its “Natural Quaker Granola” to Simply Quaker Granola” to prevent a lawsuit similar to Kellogg’s, Liv Kiser, an attorney whose firm focuses on health and wellness marketing compliance, told USA Today.

Due to terminology such as “all natural” and “no artificial ingredients” being questioned by consumers more than ever, Kiser said, “Companies can expect this kind of litigation to continue.”