By: Sofia Weber
“If consumers are paying a premium based on what a package tells them, how much should they be able to trust the label?”
It’s hard enough to navigate a nutrition label, trying to decipher which ingredients are real, which are just another additive or preservative, and whether “organic” actually makes a difference beyond hurting your wallet. However, at the very least, the expectation is that the labels and ingredients actually represent what’s in the product.
A recent study conducted at the Wang Lab at UC Davis found that almost all of the avocado oil-labeled products they tested were actually not using pure avocado oil, but instead a mixture containing lower cost seed oils and refined oils. Amongst those tested was Chosen Foods LLC, who is facing a class action lawsuit as of August 2026 for claiming and marketing their products to contain 100% pure avocado oil.
Health conscious customers pay higher prices for products they think are superior quality than alternatives, and are likely, if not completely, basing their decisions on reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists. Avocado oil sells for an elevated premium compared to vegetable oil, for example, because it is generally recognized as a higher quality product and has been shown to contain numerous health benefits.
The sad part is, this isn’t a one-off.
There have been numerous companies under fire for alleged false advertising and a lack of transparency when it comes to their products and quality of ingredients.
According to the Code of Federal Regulations, a product is not considered mislabeled unless the nutrition content is twenty percent greater than what is visible to consumers. Given this generous margin, it’s unsettling that companies are struggling to meet these standards.
Earlier this year, David Protein Bars had a lawsuit filed against them, claiming their fat and calorie content went far beyond the twenty-percent buffer. The suit was dropped, but it led to a closer look into David Protein’s ingredients.
One ingredient, a modified plant-based fat called esterified propoxylated glycerol, supposedly goes through the body but never actually digested. EPG is generally considered safe, but has been shown to interfere with absorption of essential nutrients, like vitamins A and E, during testing.
Protein Bars are considered nourishing options for athletes, gym-goers, or anyone looking for a nutritious on the go snack, and are often recommended by dieticians. However, a majority of brands are ultraprocessed, contain ingredients few consumers can even pronounce, and are potentially adverse to a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Companies have taken advantage of increasingly health-minded consumers by marketing their products to appear as “clean” as possible.
For example, the founder of David Protein, Peter Rahal, also founded RX-Bar, before selling the company to Kellogg in 2017. The RX-Bar marketing message is simplicity, with their ingredients listed on the front of the bars in enlarged text.
Taking a closer look, they also add in “Natural Flavors” which are nowhere to be found on the front of the bar. Natural flavors often contain artificial and chemical compounds.
Less than a year ago, the city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against ten large food manufacturers, including Oreo cookies, Lunchables, and Cheerios. The lawsuit remains active, and argues that promoting ultraprocessed foods should be considered deceptive marketing, and therefore violates California’s Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute. The products promoted by the manufacturers contained ingredients linked to serious diseases, such as Cancer and Type-2 diabetes.
It’s easy to assume that because a product is sitting on a grocery store shelf, it has met some basic standard of health and safety. However, as more products and companies come under investigation, it is becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) current standard of “Generally Recognized as Safe” may not be sufficient to protect our health and wellness.
