![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/73c9722802582eb1c5bad7d7b36eb40030-david-protein-2.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
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\n Photo: Slaven Vlasic\/Getty Images for The Vitamin Shoppe\n <\/p>\n
Since David bars first hit the market in 2024, they\u2019ve become a cult favorite product for protein junkies and the macro-tracking set, largely because the bars\u2019 nutrition facts claim they contain 150 calories and 28 grams of protein. But according to a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year, those numbers might be too good to be true. According to the complaint, which was posted<\/a> by a class-action news site this week and obtained by The Cut, testing on the bars revealed they allegedly contain about 83 percent more calories, and 400 percent more fat, than advertised.<\/p>\n The lawsuit accuses the company of misleading customers and violating FDA regulations. Per the complaint, an \u201caccredited laboratory recognized by the FDA\u201d tested a variety of the brand\u2019s flavors and found each bar contained between 263 and 275 calories \u2014 not, as the label says, 150 calories. The suit also claimed that the bars contain\u00a0far more fat than the label indicates, coming in somewhere between 11.76 and 13.52 grams \u2014 more than four times the listed fat content of two to 2.5 grams.<\/p>\n In January, shortly after the suit was first filed, the brand\u2019s co-founder Peter Rahal defended the company\u2019s nutrition labeling in an interview with Vanity Fair<\/a>. \u201cWe stand behind the accuracy of our product labeling, which complies with FDA requirements for measuring and reporting nutritional content,\u201d Rahal said. He argued that the lawsuit \u201cfails to understand how the FDA measures the calories for EPG, one of our key ingredients.\u201d EPG<\/a>, which stands for esterified propoxylated glycerol, is a fat substitute manufactured by Epogee, a company that was acquired<\/a> by David last year.<\/p>\n This is not the first time David\u2019s use of EPG has gotten the brand in legal trouble \u2014 in May, three former Epogee clients accused Rahal of antitrust violations<\/a> for David\u2019s exclusive access to EPG. In court documents, David reportedly fired back that the former clients \u201conly have themselves to blame\u201d for not securing their own long-term Epogee contracts. None of this seems to have slowed down the growth of everyone\u2019s favorite design-y protein bars \u2014 Rahal recently told The New Consumer<\/a> that he plans to launch more products this year. Something tells me those will be shockingly low in calories and fat, too?<\/p>\n The Cut has reached out to representatives for the David brand and will update this post if we hear back.<\/p>\n Stay in touch.<\/p>\n The latest in style, self, culture, and power in your inbox.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n