How many strawberries are in your Pop-Tarts? Not since Mr. Owl sought the answer to one of life's great mysteries — how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? — have we encountered a question quite like this. But this isn't a 1970s-era commercial with a cartoon owl; this is serious — and potentially costly — business. So, how many strawberries do Pop-Tarts contain? The question caused one consumer to file a $5 million lawsuit against Pop-Tarts maker Kellogg's, claiming there isn't much actual fruit underneath the sweet confection's toaster-slot-sized processed and frosted exterior. The class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of Illinois resident Anita Harris in August 2021, alleges that Pop-Tarts are essentially a dessert in health-food packaging. The lawsuit claims Kellogg's Pop-Tarts marketing is "misleading because they give people the impression the fruit filling contains a greater relative and absolute amount of strawberries than it does." Harris isn't alone. As of October 2021, at least two other lawsuits in the United States have been filed claiming that Kellogg's strawberry Pop-Tarts don't contain enough actual strawberries, an allegation that by-and-large has the potential to violate state consumer fraud laws. For die-hard Pop-Tarts lovers, the litigation may be a moot point. While true Pop-Tart lovers know intellectually that there’s very little fruit in the pastries, that’s not enough for them to give up their favorite breakfast treat. "When you eat a Pop-Tart, you know it isn't organic or vegan,” said Pop-Tart fan Sam Han.
