On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos dismissed a July 2021 putative class action alleging that Dreyer’s falsely claimed that its Haagen-Dazs ice cream bars are coated in “milk chocolate.”  The complaint alleged that the representations on the label of certain Dreyer’s ice cream bars sold under its Häagen-Dazs brand were misleading, because “the phrase ‘rich milk chocolate’  on the Product’s label is deceptive [as] it implies that the Product’s coating contains only cacao ingredients rather than vegetable or coconut oil [ ]” – ingredients that are not permitted in standard of identity milk chocolate.  However, Judge Ramos concluded that the label on the Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream bar did not purport that the product was made “only,” “exclusively” or “100% with chocolate.” Judge Ramos noted that the bars’ ingredient list disclosed the presence of vegetable oil used in the bar’s chocolate shell.

We reported on a similar complaint in July 2021 where an Illinois consumer filed a complaint alleging that Dreyer’s failed to inform consumers that it “uses coconut oil as a substitute for some cacao beans to make the chocolate in the vanilla milk chocolate almond ice cream bars.” This complainant argued that “where a food has some chocolate but is mainly vegetable oils” it falls under the SOI for “milk chocolate and vegetable fat coating” and should be labeled accordingly.  Dreyer subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the claim, arguing that consumers receive, “exactly what the front label promises.” To date, no judgment has been entered for this complaint.