Utz Quality Foods LLC and Good Health Natural Products Inc. face a potential class action alleging that the companies replaced a blend of vegetable-derived ingredients with synthetic additives in their Extra Goodness! products, including vegetable straws and chips. Feldman v. Utz Quality Foods, LLC, No. 18-6004 (S.D.N.Y., filed July 3, 2018). The complaint alleges that the companies deceptively marketed and misbranded the snacks, which were previously made with a proprietary blend of spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets and shiitake mushrooms. The plaintiff contends that Utz and Good Health stopped buying the blend in December 2016 and replaced it with a "cheaper synthetic blend" but did not update the ingredient list for more than a year. Moreover, the plaintiff contends that the current product does not contain "significant amounts of the vegetables or vegetable-derived vitamins depicted, and are not healthful." Claiming deceptive acts or practices, false advertising, breach of warranties and unjust enrichment,…
Tag Archives vitamins and minerals
A Maryland dairy has filed a First Amendment lawsuit challenging a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation requiring skim milk without vitamins A and D added to be labeled “imitation." S. Mountain Creamery, LLC v. FDA, No. 18-0738 (M.D. Pa., filed April 4, 2018). According to the complaint, South Mountain Creamery cannot selling its “all-natural, additive-free, pasteurized skim milk” in Pennsylvania because of FDA regulations mandating that skim milk sold in interstate commerce must contain the added vitamins. The creamery asserts that the fat-soluble vitamins dissipate before skim milk reaches the consumer, and FDA’s “own official materials discuss this issue.” According to the complaint, “The effect of the relevant regulations and laws is that any product consisting entirely of skim milk can never be labeled as ‘skim milk’ . . . [it] must be labeled as ‘imitation.’” The dairy alleges that the FDA definition misleads and confuses the public and that…
The makers of Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws face a proposed class action alleging the company misrepresented the vegetable content and nutritional value of the product. Solak v. Hain Celestial Grp., No. 17-0704 (N.D.N.Y., filed June 29, 2017). The plaintiffs assert that Garden Veggie Straws are marketed as containing “garden grown potatoes [and] ripe vegetables” and display tomatoes, potatoes and spinach on the packaging, but the first ingredients listed are “potato starch, potato flour, corn starch, tomato paste and spinach powder.” In addition, the plaintiffs assert that while tomatoes and spinach are “excellent sources” of vitamins A and C, Garden Veggie Snacks contain no vitamin A and only two percent of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of vitamin C. The complaint further alleges that the snacks are advertised as containing 30 percent less fat than “the leading potato chip," but a single serving of Lay’s Classic potato chips apparently contains…
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has announced new recommendations limiting the amount of fruit juice that children consume to reduce the risk of obesity and dental caries. Whole fruit is preferable to fruit juice for nutrition and healthy weight gain, the group stated, because 100 percent juice is mostly water, with small amounts of vitamins and minerals and no fiber. The recommendations further specify that infants should not have fruit juice at all during their first year, and toddlers should be limited to 4 ounces a day. AAP also recommends that juices be pasteurized to reduce the risk of E. coli, Salmonella and Cryptosporidium. Issue 636
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has overturned a Florida court's summary judgment against Ocheesee Creamery, finding that the company can sell its milk product as skim milk despite its refusal to follow a Florida law requiring skim milk to be fortified with vitamin A. Ocheesee Creamery LLC v. Putnam, No. 16-12049 (11th Cir., order entered March 20, 2017). Additional details on the lower court's rulings appear in Issues 555 and 599 of this Update. Florida initially told Ocheesee that it could sell its skim milk as "imitation skim milk," but Ocheesee objected to the description of its natural, unfortified milk as "imitation." Ocheesee rejected other suggested labels as well, including "Non-Grade 'A' Milk Product, Natural Milk Vitamins Removed," then filed a lawsuit asserting a First Amendment right to describe its product as "skim milk." The lower court granted summary judgment in favor of Florida, finding that…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld two complaints alleging that advertisements touting Kellogg Co.’s Special K® products as “full of goodness” and “nutritious” violated broadcast (BCAP) and non-broadcast (CAP) advertising codes for food, food supplements and associated health claims. The complaints targeted a TV ad for Special K® porridge that included supported health claim related to vitamin B2, as well as website claims regarding the product’s “unique Nutri K™ recipe.” According to ASA, the agency “shared Kellogg’s view that the claim ‘full of goodness’ was a reference to a general, non-specific health benefit of the product and as such, we agreed that Kellogg was required to accompany it with a specific authorized health claim.” But because the authorized vitamin B2 claim did not immediately follow the general health claim, ASA found the ad in breach of BCAP Code Rule 13.4.3. The watchdog also felt that the website advertisement…
The European Commission (EC) has published a report finding that foods intended for sportspeople do not require special provisions under the regulation on food for specific groups (FSG Regulation), which will replace the framework on foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses (PARNUTs) on July 20, 2016. Based on the results of an external study commissioned by the EC Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, the report explains that the FSG Regulation covers foods targeting vulnerable population groups— such as food for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes, and total diet replacement for weight control—but does not extend to sports foods intended for either (i) sportspeople who practice sport more than once a week, or (ii) lifestyle users who practice sport less than once a week or not at all. “Thus, since a categorization as foodstuff intended for particular nutritional uses will no longer be available to…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced revisions to the Nutrition Facts label designed to emphasize “the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease.” In addition to highlighting calories, servings per container and serving-size declarations through a combination of increased type size and boldface, the new labels will (i) require “added sugars” in grams and as a percent daily value, (ii) require Vitamin D and potassium values, and (iii) make Vitamins A and C optional. Citing scientific research, FDA has updated several daily values and eliminated “Calories from Fat,” but increased mandatory serving sizes to better reflect food consumption data. Food packages containing one to two servings that are typically consumed in one sitting must list calories and nutritional information for the entire packaged portion. Manufacturers must also use dual-column labels for 24-ounce sodas, ice cream pints and other foods and beverages that…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved folic acid fortification of corn masa flour in response to a 2012 petition from the March of Dimes Foundation, National Council of La Raza and other groups. FDA’s action allows manufacturers to voluntarily add up to 0.7 milligrams of folic acid per pound of corn masa flour. Used in tortillas, tamales and other foods, corn masa flour is a dietary staple for many people of Mexican and Central American descent, and the petitioners sought the voluntary fortification to increase the folic acid intake for U.S. women of childbearing age who regularly consume such products. Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin linked to the decreased incidence of neural tube defects. See Federal Register, April 15, 2016.
A Florida federal court has rejected a Florida dairy farmer’s challenge to the state’s standard of identity for skim milk, which dictates that its nutrient content must be the same as that of unfortified whole milk, requiring the addition of vitamin A after processing. Ocheesee Creamery v. Putnam, No. 14-0621 (N.D. Fla., Tallahassee Div., order entered March 30, 2016). The farmer’s company, Ocheesee Creamery, skimmed the cream from milk and sold the leftover product as “skim milk” without fortifying it with vitamin A. Florida inspectors told the dairy farmer she must adjust the nutrient level or label the milk “imitation,” and she filed a lawsuit challenging the rule. Additional details on the case appear in Issue 555 of this Update. The court found that the state standard of identity and its federal counterpart in the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act “easily pass muster” under the First Amendment test for…
