
Nutro Pet Foods
Allegations: False natural claims
January 2018: The appeal was voluntarily dismissed, the reasons for which have not been disclosed.
October 2017: The named plaintiff filed a Notice of Appeal regarding the decision to grant summary judgment.
September 2017: A federal judge granted Mars Food’s motion for summary judgment because the named plaintiff confirmed that she did not rely on the serving size representation when making the decision to purchase the product.
2016: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Mars Food for allegedly misleadingly marketing the amount of rice in each packet of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice. According to the complaint, the marketing represents that each packet yields approximately two cups (or two servings) of rice when, in reality, consumers get between 1 1/3 and 1 ½ cups of prepared rice. The complaint was originally filed in state court in June 2016, transferred to federal court in July 2016, and amended in November 2016. (Vigil et al v. Mars Inc. and Mars Food US, LLC, Case No. 16-cv-3818, N.D. Cal.)
For more information about other class-action lawsuits regarding Uncle Ben’s rice and TINA.org’s coverage of the products, click here.
Allegations: False natural claims
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that the filling in products is made with real cheddar cheese
Allegations: Deceptively using slack-filled packaging that is approximately 55% empty space
Allegations: Failing to disclose that products contain dangerous levels of heavy metals
Allegations: Misleadingly representing that cocoa has been harvested following ethical and environmentally responsible standards
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that the filling in snacks is “made with real cheese”
Allegations: Failing to adequately disclose candies contain a toxin that increases the risk of adverse health effects
Allegations: Deceptively representing the number of calories in candies
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that dog foods do not contain wheat, soy, or chicken when they contain significant amounts of the ingredients
Allegations: Falsely marketing products as containing cinnamon
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that ice cream bars are covered in milk chocolate when the coating contains ingredients not contained in real chocolate
Allegations: Falsely marketing products as “made with real fruit” when the fruit ingredients contain sugar and other non-fruit components
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