Grocery giant accused of false advertising and misleading shoppers in California
Two prosecutors in California accuse Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery store operator, of misleading shoppers about the calorie count of its Carbmaster bread products.
The district attorneys in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties announced a civil case on Friday alleging Kroger violated California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws from late 2018 until at least June 2022.
The company, which operates in California as Ralphs, Food 4 Less and Foods Co., is accused of prominently advertising that its Carbmaster Wheat and White breads contained 30 calories per slice when they, in fact, contain at least 50 calories.
The prosecutors provided photos to the media showing conflicting calorie labels on two sides of the same package of Carbmaster Classic White Bread.
“Consumers rely on nutritional information to make important decisions about their personal health and well-being. For some consumers, these decisions are based upon medical necessity,” said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. “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.”
Counterfeit iPhone, iPad scheme cost Apple millions, feds say
The complaint also alleges that Kroger continues to falsely advertise the incorrect, lower calorie count on some of its websites.
KTLA 5 News reached out to Kroger but did not receive a response Friday afternoon.
Krogers operates nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
