Tag: healthy
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FDA Releases Proposed “Healthy” Definition Update
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a proposed update to guidance on how the term “healthy” can be used in marketing and labeling food products. The announcement notes that current limitations on usage of the term are out of step with the dietary guidelines—for example, salmon is excluded from permitted use due…
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CSPI Urges FDA to Establish Standardized Front-of-Package Labeling
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a regulatory petition asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to require on the principal display panel of a food an easy-to-understand, standardized system that is 1) mandatory, 2) nutrient-specific, 3) includes calories, and is 4) interpretative with respect to the levels of…
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Clif Bar & Co. to Pay $10.5 Million to Settle Sugar Class Action
Clif Bar & Co. has submitted a settlement agreement to a California federal court seeking approval to settle a class action alleging that Clif Bars are misleadingly marketed as healthy despite containing levels of sugar beyond what consumers would expect healthy foods to contain. Milan v. Clif Bar & Co., No. 18-2354 (N.D. Cal., filed June…
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FDA to Research Use of “Healthy” Symbol
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will conduct quantitative consumer research on the use of “voluntary symbols that could be used in the future to convey the nutrient content claim ‘healthy.’” The agency is simultaneously “developing a proposed rule that would update when manufacturers may use the ‘healthy’ nutrient content…
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Kellogg “Healthy” Settlement Rejected
A California federal court has rejected a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged Kellogg Sales Co. misled consumers by marketing its products as “healthy.” Hadley v. Kellogg Sales Co., No. 16-4955 (N.D. Cal., San Jose Div., entered February 20, 2020). The court found the settlement agreement to be invalid for several reasons: (i) “the release…
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“Healthy” Foods Continue to Confuse Consumers
Several 2019 putative class actions targeted food products that purportedly misled consumers because they were marketed as “healthy” despite containing ingredients with debated health benefits. Coconut and coconut-derived products were a popular target for plaintiffs, who asserted that they were misled about the benefits associated with cooking with coconut oil or drinking coconut milk because…
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Kellogg Settles “Healthy” Cereal Suit for $20 Million
The parties in a lawsuit alleging Kellogg Sales Co. misrepresented its cereals as healthy have reached an agreement that would require the company to pay $20 million in payments and make marketing changes valued at more than $11 million. Hadley v. Kellogg Sales Co., No. 16-4955 (N.D. Cal., filed October 21, 2019). The lawsuit alleged…
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Putative Class Action Targets Kellogg for Added Sugars
Four consumers have filed a putative class action alleging that Kellogg Sales Co. misleadingly markets its products as promoting health and wellness despite containing added sugars. DiGregorio v. Kellogg Sales Co., No. 19-0632 (N.D.N.Y., filed May 28, 2019). The complaint details studies about the health effects of sugars on the human body and argues that…