Cytosport’s Muscle Milk Products

October 2020: A federal judge granted final approval of the settlement agreement. For more information, go to https://leanproteinsettlement.com/.

June 2020: A federal judge granted preliminary approval of the settlement agreement.

March 2020: Plaintiffs moved for preliminary approval of a proposed settlement agreement that establishes a $12 million settlement fund that would be used to pay class members, attorneys’ fees, and incentive awards to named plaintiffs. The proposed agreement provides class members with $1 for shake products, $3 for powder products that weigh 2 ¾ pounds or less, and $5 for powder products that weight more than 2 ¾ pounds. Class members who have proof of purchase may receive a refund for every product they purchased while class members who do not have proof of purchase may receive a maximum award of $25. In addition, the company agreed to remove the challenged “lean” references from the labels of powder products and to review its manufacturing processes and protocols to minimize the variability in the amount of protein in shake products.

January 2015: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Cytosport for allegedly falsely labeling its Muscle Milk and Lean Muscle Milk products. Specifically, plaintiffs claim that the company:

• Misleadingly advertises that Muscle Milk products contain a specific amount of protein when they actually contain significantly less protein than the advertised amount (for example, the company labels Cytosport Whey Isolate Protein drinks as containing 32 grams of protein per bottle when they actually contain 27.3 grams);
• Misleadingly represents that the Muscle Milk Powder products contain the amino acid L-Glutamine when they actually do not; and
• Misleadingly uses the label “lean” on its Lean Muscle Milk products when, in reality, the Lean Muscle Milk products do not contain less fat than other traditional protein powders.

(Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in 2017.)

(Clay et al v. Cytosport, Inc., Case No. 15-cv-00165, S.D. Cal.).

For more information about other class-action lawsuits filed against Cytosport and TINA.org’s coverage of the company, click here.