David Protein is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly misrepresenting the calorie and fat contents of its popular protein bars.
Three individuals who bought David Protein bars filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Jan. 23. The lawsuit claims that the bars contain “way more” calories than declared on the label. Product testing using the Atwater factor, a standard method for calculating calories in food, revealed that the bars exceeded the stated calories by as much as 83%, according to court filings.
The documents noted that further testing shows the fat content to be as much as 400% higher than what the brand states on product labels.
David Protein’s website claims its protein bars contain 150 calories and 0 grams of sugar along with 28 grams of protein.
The case cites FDA regulations that consider a food product misbranded if the nutrient content exceeds more than 20% of the amount declared on the label. Consumer laws also prohibit false and misleading advertising.
The lawsuit argues that consumers expect David Protein’s products to display the correct number of calories and total fat per serving on the labels.
The plaintiffs are seeking either their actual damages or $500 per violation, whichever is greater, plus triple damages and attorney fees. They are also requesting a trial by jury.
The lawsuit names Linus Technologies as the defendant, a food technology company founded by Peter Rahal in 2023, according to a company profile on Tracxn. Rahal is the co-founder of David Protein and RXBAR.
Rahal defended the company’s protein bars in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“We stand behind the accuracy of our product labeling, which complies with FDA requirements for measuring and reporting nutritional content,” Rahal told Vanity Fair. “This particular claim, among other things, fails to understand how the FDA measures the calories for EPG, one of our key ingredients. We intend to defend this claim vigorously.”
On Wednesday, the company posted “No one is getting Regina Georged” to Instagram, referencing a scene from the movie “Mean Girls” when the character Cady Heron tricks Regina George into eating protein bars, causing her to gain weight.
