PepsiCo Could Face Legal Action For Marketing its Gatorade protein bars as healthy

A judge has left PepsiCo open to being sued after giving the greenlight for legal action based on the "health halo" it created – allegedly without merit - around its Gatorade bars.

US District Judge Casey Pitts in San Jose, California has ruled that a class action can go ahead, which alleges that PepsiCo has misled the public over the health benefits of the bars. 

Three “self-described fitness enthusiasts”- launched their legal bid last year – arguing that the labelling and marketing of the Gatorade bars is deceptive. They are seeking unspecified damages. They say that the bars “…have more sugar than protein and more sugar than typical candy bars”, says Reuters. 

Indeed, the class action describes the bars as "fortified junk food" with 29 grams of sugar and only 20 grams of protein. The amount of added sugar is above the recommended daily limit for women, recommended by the American Heart Association. Their claims go against the marketing for the bars, which states that they "help muscles rebuild" and that their nutritional value is "backed by science."

PepsiCo has responded that the deception claims are "implausible" and argues that it did not market the bars as either healthy or low in sugar. However, the judge pointed to the "self-proclaimed science-backed claims" that the company did make about the bars and also argued that some people might be able to interpret the levels of sugar listed in the ingredients as healthy or unhealthy. 

The plaintiffs are now pursuing their claim.