Is Your Fat Free Milk Really Fat Free?

With obesity the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, Americans are desperate for healthy options in the supermarket aisles. Against this backdrop, with consumers demanding dairy products that fit their diet and nutritional wants and needs, Smart Balance, Inc. sells “Fat Free” milks containing Omega-3s which purportedly taste as rich and creamy as 2% milk or whole milk. The “Fat Free” milks seemingly give consumers the best of both worlds, a milk free of fat, but that still tastes as rich and creamy as its less healthy higher fat siblings – 2% milk and whole milk.

Unfortunately, however, despite aggressively labeling its milks as “Fat Free” Smart Balance’s line of “Fat Free” milks with Omega-3s actually contain 1 gram of fat per serving. This 1 gram of fat per serving is double the legal limit of 0.5 grams of fat per serving that a food is legally permitted to contain to label itself “Fat Free.” The Smart Balance milks that contain 1 gram of fat despite labeling themselves as “Fat Free” include:

·         Smart Balance® Fat Free Milk and Omega-3s

·         Smart Balance® Lactose-Free Fat Free Milk and Omega-3s

·         Smart Balance® HeartRight® Fat Free Milk and Omega-3s, Vitamin E and Natural Plant Sterols

If you or someone you know purchased any of these Smart Balance “Fat Free” milks, please contact us to discuss your legal options.