CALIFORNIA – California resident Mark Tobin filed a class action lawsuit, July 19, against Cocoa Puff’s maker General Mills for failing to disclose that the chocolate-flavored cereal contains – what he says is a substantial and dangerous amount of lead.
Tobin is seeking to represent California citizens who purchased the cereal in the state within the past four years. He says the claims of the proposed class members exceed $5 million.
Consumers substantially exceed the recommended serving size per bowl
According to the court document, Tobin had an independent testing and analysis conducted on the cereal.
He found that the amount of lead contained in an average-size bowl of Cocoa Puffs exceeds the California Proposition 65 Maximum Allowable Daily Level (MADL) of .5 mcg.
If a product contains chemicals above this level, a warning label must be provided.
“According to independent laboratory testing, the Products contain .432 mcg of lead per 1 cup (36 g) serving. Almost all consumers, however, substantially exceed the recommended serving size per bowl of cereal poured and, therefore, the amount of lead per bowl of the Products exceeds the MADL,” says the court document.