Have you ever thought to yourself: “wow, I need to up my fruit intake. I should go get a Krispy Kreme donut”?

No?

Well, that’s probably for the best. It turns out that many of Krispy Kreme’s donuts don’t actually contain real fruit. 

via GIPHY

If you’re shocked, you’re not alone. A California man named Jason Saidian filed a $5 million class action lawsuit against Krispy Kreme, accusing the food chain of false advertising and fraud for misrepresenting some of its donut flavors. The pastries that he specifically has an issue with are the Chocolate Iced Raspberry Filled, Glazed Raspberry Filled, and Glazed Blueberry Cake donuts, as well as the Glazed Blueberry Cake donut holes because they don’t contain any real raspberries or blueberries. He’s also upset with the Maple Iced Glazed donuts, because they don’t contain real maple syrup. Instead, the donut fillings are made with artificial flavorings and food coloring.

Saidian’s lawsuit contrasts those imposter pastries with Krispy Kreme products that actually are made with fruit, like some of its strawberry, apple, and lemon-themed offerings. That’s fair, and the lawsuit also rightly points out that Krispy Kreme isn’t great about explaining what ingredients are in its donuts, stating:

The donuts sold in-store by [Krispy Kreme] are displayed in a tray behind a glass counter, along with a small placard in front of each tray that provides the name of the donut variety. No ingredients list is provided or available to customers in-store.

But, the lawsuit doesn’t stop there. Instead, it laments the health concerns that could arise from eating fake-fruit donuts, for example blueberries “have the potential to limit the development and severity of certain cancers and vascular diseases…and neurodegenerative diseases of aging.” That seems a bit far-fetched–the little good that could be done by eating blueberries seem like it would be negated by eating a Krispy Kreme donut in the first place. Saidan’s lawyers told Buzzfeed that’s not the point though:

This lawsuit, on behalf of consumers, concerns Krispy Kreme misleading consumers that its products contain premium ingredients such as blueberry, raspberry and maple syrup. This lawsuit is not about whether the [donuts] are healthy or not.

But honestly, I’m more surprised that some of the donuts actually have any fruit components in them in the first place. It’s clearly time for more donuts.

via GIPHY

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post A Fruitless Suit?: Krispy Kreme Sued Over Fake Berry-Flavored Donuts appeared first on Law Street.

Donuts can be addictive–but they’re not drugs. That seems like common sense, but unfortunately an Orlando man named Daniel Rushing was arrested late last year because local police mistook dried Krispy Kreme donut icing in his car for meth. Now, Rushing is suing the city for $15,000 in damages due to that arrest, as well as the roadside drug test manufacturer that the police officer used.

Rushing was pulled over by Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins last December. He was pulled over for a legitimate reason–he failed to come to a complete stop after leaving a parking lot. He allowed the officer to search his car, and she found some donut frosting flakes. She described it in her report as “a rock like substance on the floor,” but Rushing insists he tried to tell her that it was just leftovers from his morning snack.

Rushing said:

Every other Wednesday, I get a glazed doughnut from Krispy Kreme. (Police) found four little pieces of icing on the floorboard, which I’m kind of embarrassed about because I should have, you know, vacuumed the car better.

So, Riggs-Hopkins used a roadside test to test the substance, and alleges that it tested positive for meth. But Riggs-Hopkins arrested Rushing on a drug possession charge and he spent almost 10 hours in jail before he was able to post bail. And a few weeks later, when the police tested the supposed meth in a lab, it was shown that there were no illicit substances in the frosting pieces.

In addition to suing the city of Orlando–he alleges that Riggs-Hopkins should have recognized that the substance wasn’t meth, and was improperly trained to use the roadside test–Rushing is suing Safariland, the company that produced the drug tests. According to local news, “Rushing hopes to force more scrutiny over the field tests.”

Rushing’s concerns are fair, but that hasn’t stopped the case from garnering some national attention–after all, donuts may be addictive, but they’re certainly not illegal.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Florida Man Sues After Police Mistake Donut Icing for Meth appeared first on Law Street.