Muscular marketing

The San Diego law firm of Finkelstein & Krinsk, representing three plaintiffs, has sued Benicia-based Cytosport in federal court on grounds that the company's sports nutrition products do not contain the ingredients and characteristics advertised. Last summer, Cytosport was bought by Minnesota-based Hormel Foods.

Cytosport's popular "Muscle Milk" is advertised as a powdered and ready-to-drink protein supplement. However, it does not contain the quantity of protein that it advertises, says the suit. Cytosport claims that its products contain L-Glutamine, an amino acid that aids in muscle recovery. But, according to the suit, the powder product does not contain L-Glutamine "in any appreciable amount."

In advertising its Lean Muscle Milk Products as "lean," Cytosport is suggesting to consumers that the powders contain less fat than other similar supplements. "This is demonstrably false," says the suit.

Rick Williamson of Hormel says,, "We are reviewing the allegations and will defend them accordingly."