General Mills Fruit Snack Buyers Drop Flavor Deception Claims

Consumers who alleged General Mills Inc. duped them about the flavoring in cartoon fruit snacks have dropped their individual claims after a federal court in California twice rejected proposals for a class settlement calling for label changes.

Crystal Hilsley, Adrienne Morris, and others alleged numerous General Mills products contain dl-malic acid, an artificial flavor, despite label assurances that they contain “No Artificial Flavors” and were “Naturally Flavored.”

In June 2021, Judge M. James Lorenz of the US District Court for the Southern District of California rejected the initial proposal, which added an asterisk next to the “No Artificial Flavors” claim, ...