Major Grocery Store Chain In Hot Water Over False Advertising

Clear Facts

• Kroger, the well-known grocery store chain, is under lawsuit for accusations of false advertising related to the calorie counts on two of their store-brand bread products.
• The lawsuit maintains that the company advertised a lower calorie count on the front packaging of the products, while the Nutrition Facts label on the back displayed a higher count.
• A Reddit post from May 2022 suggests that discrepancies in Kroger’s labeling have been noticed by consumers previously, indicating this is not a singular event.

Consumers, many of whom are either aiming for a healthier lifestyle or managing their weight, closely scrutinize the calorie counts printed on food packaging. We generally trust these labels to provide accurate information, but a recent lawsuit indicates we might need to be more cautious.

Kroger, a renowned grocery chain, is currently contending with allegations of misleading its customers by inaccurately stating the calorie counts on two of their store-brand breads.

On May 31, a joint press release from the District Attorney’s Offices of Ventura County and Santa Barbara County announced the filing of a civil case against The Kroger Co. in Santa Barbara Superior Court. The case alleges violations of California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws.

The lawsuit targets Kroger’s Carbmaster Wheat Bread and Carbmaster White Bread, arguing that the company had “falsely advertised the calorie content” of these items.

Prosecutors suggest that between approximately November 2018 and June 2022, Kroger “prominently advertised on the front packaging” of both Carbmaster bread products that each slice contained 30 calories. However, the Nutrition Facts labels on the back suggested each slice actually contained 50 or more calories.

“Consumers rely on nutritional information to make important decisions about their personal health and well-being,” Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a statement.

“False advertising of calories can mislead, or even endanger consumers, and it provides an unfair advantage over competitors who are advertising in compliance with FDA guidelines.”

The suit further alleges that before June 2022, Kroger inaccurately advertised calorie counts on the Nutrition Facts labels. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates that most food packages feature a Nutrition Facts label. Notably, the FDA stipulates that companies are “responsible for the accuracy and the compliance of the information presented on the label” of their products.

The lawsuit indicates that Kroger continues to “advertise the incorrect, lower calorie count on some of its websites today.” However, it should be highlighted that both products seem to be listed as having 50 calories on Kroger’s website currently.

Santa Barbara District Attorney John Savrnoch emphasized the importance of accurate information on food items in a release: “Consumers are entitled to accurate information on products, especially caloric information on food items.”

This isn’t the inaugural time that Kroger’s calorie counts have faced scrutiny. A May 2022 Reddit post highlighted the discrepancy between the 30 and 50 calorie counts on packages of Kroger’s Carbmaster White Bread. One user was quoted, “the calories were wrong the whole time and they’re being forced to change the label.”

The same thread contained another user stating that this wasn’t the first time Kroger had been caught mislabeling their products. “Kroger seems to have lots of this sort of issue, they did the same thing with their Keto hamburger buns last year,” the user commented, “They used to be labeled as 50 calories, but suddenly they doubled to 100 calories each.”

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