A consumer has filed a lawsuit alleging Schwan's Co. falsely advertises Mrs. Smith's Original Flaky Crust Pies as made with “real butter” despite allegedly containing a vegetable and butter shortening blend. Leguette v. Schwan’s Co., No. 17-7599 (E.D.N.Y., filed December 31, 2017). The plaintiff alleges that she bought a Mrs. Smith's apple pie because the package prominently displayed the statements “Made With Real Butter,” “No Artificial Sweeteners, Dyes or Flavors” and "No High Fructose Corn Syrup.” The Nutrition Facts panel disclosed that the product contains a “Shortening Butter Blend (Palm Oil, Butter [Cream, Salt])” and corn syrup. Claiming violations of New York’s General Business Law, breach of warranties and unjust enrichment, the plaintiff seeks class certification, injunctive relief, damages and attorney’s fees.
Tag Archives corn syrup
The National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that French’s Food Company pull Facebook and print advertising claiming that its ketchup and mustard products are “better” than their competitors, preferred by children and free from high-fructose corn syrup. NAD found that French’s was unable to substantiate several claims—“Tastier Meals,” “Greatest Tasting Ketchup” and “America’s #1 mustard has the greatest tasting ketchup"—and could not support the contention that the absence of GMO ingredients or high-fructose corn syrup made the products “better” than those of competitors. NAD also noted that the Facebook ad did not refer to any improvements or changes in French’s products that would make them “better” than previous versions. French’s has agreed to discontinue the ads.
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that American Sugar Refining mislabeled its agave syrup as “organic” because it contains isomaltose, an ingredient “not naturally found in pure agave syrup.” Valdes v. Am. Sugar Refining, No. 17-5213 (E.D.N.Y., filed September 5, 2017). The complaint asserts that while the only ingredient listed on the product label is organic agave nectar, independent testing revealed the presence of isomaltose, which is “commonly found in high fructose corn syrup” and “other non-natural, non-organic sweeteners.” Alleging violations of state consumer-protection laws, fraud, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment, the plaintiff seeks class certification, damages, an injunction, restitution and attorney’s fees.
A consumer has filed a lawsuit alleging Mondelez International misleadingly markets Ginger Snaps cookies as healthy. Winn v. Mondelez Int’l, No. 17-2524 (N.D. Cal, removed to federal court May 3, 2017). The proposed class action claims that Ginger Snaps packages were marketed with the phrases “Made With Real Ginger and Molasses” and “Sensible Solutions,” leading consumers to believe the cookies were healthy despite allegedly containing “dangerous levels” of partially hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. For alleged violations of California’s consumer protection laws, the plaintiff seeks class certification, damages, restitution, injunctive relief and attorney’s fees. Issue 634
An animal study examining the purported link between high sucrose intake and the development of mammary gland tumors has attributed the effect in part “to increased expression of 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) and its arachidonate metabolite 12-hydroxy-5Z,8Z,10E,14Z-eicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE).” Yan Jiang, et al., “A Sucrose-Enriched Diet Promotes Tumorigenesis in Mammary Gland in Part through the 12-Lipoxygenase Pathway,” Cancer Research, January 2016. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers used several mouse models--“including a mouse mammary gland tumor model that carries a MMTV/unactivated neu transgene, a human triple-negative breast cancer cell (MDA-MB-231) orthotopic mouse model, and a breast cancer lung metastasis mouse model (injected with 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells)”--to identify a potential mechanism by which a sucrose-enriched diet contributes to tumor genesis and metastasis. The study reports that 50 to 58 percent of mice on a sucrose-enriched diet developed mammary tumors, compared to 30 percent on a starch-control diet. It also…
Citing citizen petition and federal court requests for the agency to define “natural” for use in food labeling and determine if food products containing genetically engineered ingredients and high-fructose corn syrup may be labeled as “natural,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is soliciting information and comments about use of the term in the labeling of human food products. More specifically, FDA seeks responses to questions that include the following: (i) Should the agency define natural through rulemaking? (ii) Should the agency prohibit use of the term in food labeling? (iii) If the agency defines natural, what foods should be permitted to bear the term? (iv) Should certain production practices, e.g., salting, irradiating, be considered in defining the term? (v) Should natural be applied only to “unprocessed” foods? (vi) Should the way an ingredient is produced or sourced affect whether a product containing that ingredient be labeled natural? and…
A University of Utah study has reportedly claimed that female mice fed fructose and glucose monosaccharides in proportions similar to the amount of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in human diets “had death rates 1.87 times higher than females on [a] sucrose diet” and “produced 26.4% fewer offspring.” James Ruff, et al., “Compared to Sucrose, Previous Consumption of Fructose and Glucose Monosaccharides Reduces Survival and Fitness of Female Mice,” The Journal of Nutrition, March 2015. Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, the study apparently builds on 2013 research concluding that “when mice were fed either a diet with 25 percent calories in the form of added fructose and glucose monosaccharides or 25 percent calories from starch, females died at twice the normal rate and males were a quarter less likely to hold territory and reproduce.” Although the new study did not find any differences in male mice…
A consumer has filed a putative class action in California state court alleging that Anheuser-Busch’s “Lime-A-Rita” malt beverages have too many calories and carbohydrates to be sold under the Bud Light Lime® label. Cruz v. Anheuser-Busch, LLC, No. BC563150 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed November 12, 2014). The plaintiff alleges that she purchased Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita® believing it to be low in calories and carbohydrates, but later learned that a serving of 8 fluid ounces contains between 192 and 220 calories and 22.8 to 23.6 g of carbohydrates compared to Bud Light’s 110 calories and 6.6 g of carbohydrates. “In general, ‘light’ may generally describe a zero calorie or a reduced calorie food, and consumers such as Plaintiff and the Class understand the ‘light’ label on a product that has a reduced or low number of calories,” the complaint asserts. The plaintiff attributes the level of calories…
Researchers with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and two other universities have launched a campaign targeting added sugar consumption. Led by UCSF Health Policy Professor Laura Schmidt, the Sugar-Science Initiative bills itself as “the authoritative source for the science about added sugar and its impact on our health.” The resulting Website features public health messages gleaned from 8,000 scientific papers that the group reportedly vetted for accuracy and conflicts of interest. Among other things, the initiative focuses on the alleged toxicity of fructose and high-fructose corn syrup, arguing that added sugar consumption contributes to liver and cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. As contributor Robert Lustig explained, “It used to be a condiment, now it’s a diet staple. As pediatricians, we had evidence of the connection between sugar and diabetes, heart disease and liver disease for years, but we haven’t had this level of definitive scientific evidence to back up…
Global Product Liability Partners Gregory Fowler and Marc Shelley have co-authored an article titled “Food and beverage labelling and advertising in the United States: Regulatory and litigation landmines,” appearing in the September 2014 issue of the International Bar Association’s Product Law and Advertising Newsletter. The article considers the public and private challenges facing U.S. food and beverage companies that promote their products as beneficial to health, “natural” or “all natural,” or include in their products genetically modified ingredients, high-fructose corn syrup or “evaporated cane juice.” The authors address trends in consumer-fraud lawsuits and settlements, competitor litigation and suits brought by morality and decency watchdogs. The article concludes by recommending the inclusion of a legal team in marketing strategies to enhance the likelihood that companies will successfully navigate these risks while distinguishing themselves in the marketplace. Issue 542
