Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against Kellogg's alleging the company gave an 'erroneous impression' about the amount of strawberry in its strawberry Pop-Tarts

• In a lawsuit, a consumer claimed Kellogg's labeling was misleading about the amount of  strawberry in its Pop-Tarts.
• A federal judge dismissed the suit Thursday, stating "the representations are simply not deceptive." 
• The judge said no consumer would see the packaging and "reasonably expect that fresh strawberries would be the sole ingredient."

Has Kellogg's been cheating consumers out of strawberries in their strawberry Pop-Tarts? One New York man thinks so, but a judge ultimately disagreed.

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit alleging the food manufacturing company used misleading labeling to exaggerate the amount of strawberry in its Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts. The toaster pastries are made with apples and pears in addition to strawberries.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in September 2020, plaintiff Kelvin Brown of the Bronx, New York wrote that he took issue with the front label of the Pop-Tarts' packaging. Specifically, he claimed the company used deceptive messaging in using the words "Frosted Strawberry," as well as showing images of half of a fresh strawberry and dark red fruit filling.

Brown alleged that the representations are false and misleading because they "give consumers the impression the fruit filling contains more strawberries than it does," according to court documents.

He also said the use of Red 40 food coloring "makes the strawberry-pear-apple combination look entirely dark red," which he claimed creates "an erroneous impression that strawberries are present in an amount greater than is the case."

US District Judge Andrew Carter ultimately sided with Kellogg's in granting the company's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

"Viewing the product label in context, the representations are simply not deceptive," Carter wrote in his ruling. "No reasonable consumer would see the entire product label, reading the words 'Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts' next to a picture of a toaster pastry coated in frosting, and reasonably expect that fresh strawberries would be the sole ingredient in the Product."

Kellogg's and an attorney for Brown did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.