Is Kashi All It's Cracked Up To Be?

Kashi has become a popular so-called healthy brand, marketed as “natural” with “nothing artificial.” But, do their fancy catch phrases like “seven whole grains on a mission,” really match up to what’s inside their boxes? According to Michael Bates of Texas and the FDA’s guidelines, not only do they not match up, they are actually deceptive and misleading.

Among other companies who have been tried for the misuse of the term “all natural” on their product labels, Kashi is the most recent on the lawsuit list. Since 1999, Kashi Co. has made claims and promises of “all natural” and/or “nothing artificial” on the front labels of almost all of its products. Kashi has tried to brand themselves as healthy and natural, and in the process has misled its consumers. This has lead to the August 2011 class action lawsuit filed against the company by Michael Bates.

The claims made against Kashi Co. indicate that their products are not completely natural and that processed and synthetic ingredients are found in many of their cereals, bars, cookies, crackers, waffles and pizza. The class action lawsuit indicates that a number of these artificial ingredients are listed as “prescription drugs, irradiated substances, pesticides that are a by-product of uranium mining and federally declared hazardous substances.”

The US Food and Drug Administration says “a product is not natural if it contains synthetic or artificial ingredients,” therefore making Kashi’s claims completely deceptive (especially since they knowingly made these false claims).  The FDA, however, does not require pre-market label approval, therefore leaving it up to consumers to take action when products are not properly labeled.

The term “natural” on food labels is beginning to lose all meaning, as like Kashi, many companies have taken advantage of this term. It is one of those words that is thrown around loosely and used by many food companies to attract customers and sell products, even when their products are far from natural.

The bottom line is that food companies will continue to deceive us, as government regulations are too lenient and we are too trusting. We must begin to take responsibility for what we put into our bodies by reading the ingredients as opposed to trusting fancy marketing slogans and claims. Don’t be fooled by words and promises, read the ingredients and know what you are eating!

To read the full class action lawsuit visit: http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/08/30/Kashi.pdf