Pair of SoCal district attorney's file lawsuit against Kroger for alleged false advertisement

The Ventura County and Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Offices have filed a civil case against Kroger, one of the nation's largest supermarket chains, for allegedly deceptive marketing.

The Kroger Co., which operates in California as familiar stores like Ralph's, Food 4 Less and Foods Co., allegedly violated the state's false advertising and unfair competition laws for their labeling of its Carbmaster bread products, according to a joint statement from both district attorneys. 

The suit alleges that from approximately Nov. 2018 to at least June 2022, Kroger advertised on the front packaging of Carbmaster Wheat and Carbmaster White breads that each product contained 30 calories per slice, when they are alleged to have contained at least 50 calories, according to the statement. 

Additionally, the complaint alleges that "at an unknown date prior to June 2022, Kroger was falsely advertising the Carbmaster calorie counts on both the front packaging and the back FDA nutrition label," the statement said, also alleging that Kroger continues to falsely advertise the product with a lower calorie count on some websites.

"Consumers rely on nutritional information to make important decisions about their personal health and well-being," said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. "For some consumers, these decision are based upon medical necessity. 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."

The case is being jointly investigated by the Consumer Protection units of both DA's offices. 

"Consumers are entitled to accurate information on products, especially caloric information on food items," said Santa Barbara District Attorney John Savrnoch. "My office is committed to protecting the public by enforcing the False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law, and we are grateful to jointly prosecute this case with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office."

KCAL News has reached out to The Kroger Co. for comment but has not yet heard back.