New York Lawsuit: Popular Health Food Contains More Calories

A massive legal battle just came to a shocking end for this New York-based company. The science behind this "fake fat" is truly mind-blowing.

Plaintiffs are dropping a lawsuit accusing the maker of a popular protein bar of misleading consumers on calorie and fat numbers.

Class Action Brought Against David Protein Bars

A class action lawsuit filed in January alleged that New York-based David Protein bars contained nearly double the calories and several times the fat listed on the label.

For New Yorkers, like myself, who thought they were eating low-calorie protein bars, this was a serious accusation.

For all the news that the Hudson Valley is sharing, make sure to follow Hudson Valley Post on Facebook, and download the Hudson Valley Post Mobile App

David Protein CEO Peter Rahal responded, saying those who filed the lawsuit used the wrong measurements and methods to come up with the calorie count.

Lawsuit Dropped

David Protein didn't settle. They fought back because the company says the science is actually worth understanding.

Rahal explained that the bars use something called EPG, or Esterified Propoxylated Glycerol. It's a modified plant-based fat substitute that the body largely can't digest or absorb.

Here's where it gets interesting. The lab tests used by the plaintiffs relied on bomb calorimetry, which measures the total heat released when food is burned.

That's not how the human body works. The FDA requires nutrition labels to reflect metabolizable energy, meaning what the body actually absorbs.

Because EPG resists digestive enzymes and passes through the body mostly unabsorbed, the FDA assigns it just 0.7 calories per gram. Traditional fat clocks in at 9 calories per gram.

In other words, the calories are technically there. Your body just can't use most of them.

The plaintiffs dropped the suit without publicly explaining why.

10 Famous Movies That Led To Major Lawsuits

Five Frivolous Lawsuits