A lawsuit against Kroger arising from inaccurate calorie counts fixed to products found on the shelves of Ralphs, Food4Less and Foods Co. grocery stores in Riverside County and other locations was settled out of court for $1.25 million, prosecutors said Monday.
The pretrial settlement ends litigation that began after Kroger outlets in 2021 were discovered placing Carbmaster Bread varieties for purchase that did not contain correct calorie displays, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Along with Riverside County, D.A.’s offices in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties joined the civil action, which culminated in final disposition of the case recently in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
“Consumers rely on calorie information to make informed decisions about the food they purchase and consume,” Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Evan Goldsmith said. “In this case, Kroger continued advertising calorie counts that were substantially lower than the actual values even after the errors had been identified.”
Kroger was asked for comment, but a spokeswoman told City News Service the corporation had “nothing to share” regarding the settlement.
Among the Carbmaster products examined following consumers’ complaints were White Wheat, Multiseed Bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, prosecutors said.
“Kroger corrected the calorie values … but continued advertising the substantially lower, incorrect calorie value on the consumer-facing portions of the packaging for at least six months,” according to the prosecution. “For at least one of the bread varieties, Kroger continued advertising the false calorie value online for nearly two years, even after the company was aware of the District Attorney’s Office investigation.”
As an example, prosecutors cited Carbmaster Hamburger Buns that bore a product nutrition label indicating only 50 calories per serving, when the actual count was 100, according to the suit.
The $1.25 million payout from the defendant, which includes sanctions and the recovery of investigative expenses, will be split evenly among the three counties, prosecutors said.