I’ve been more than a little surprised – in a good way – about the number of class action suits that have been won against big-name food and supplement companies regarding faulty and fraudulent advertising. In some cases, a careful look at the label should tell you that the advertising is nonsense, but in others, it’s not so easy, even for an expert. In case you’ve missed them, here are three of the biggest ones I’ve been made aware of lately.
Nutella not so nutritious
In April this year, Ferrero was forced to pay out $3 million due to a class-action suit against the marketing of its chocolate hazelnut spread, Nutella. While a look at the ingredients or the label really should make you believe you’re reading those of a candy bar, the product had been advertised with claims such as “Nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of cocoa.” For those who unfortunately don’t have any education in food, nutrition, or label-reading, this advertising is all they have to go on.
So congratulations to the two moms who took on Ferrero. Thanks to you, I won’t have to answer the question “What do you mean “Nutella isn’t healthy?” again.
Click here for more details on the class action settlement.
NTBY Kid’s vitamins display fraudulent labels
In August, US nutritional supplement manufacturer, marketer and distributer, NTBY , has been sued for nearly $2.1 million when it was discovered that a several of their kids vitamins, each of which advertised containing 100% of their daily needs of DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid important for brain development), was found in reality to contain only one-one thousandth (1/1000) of the amount.
The brands included their lines of Disney and Marvel Heroes children’s multivitamin gummies and tablets.
The NTBY corporate website indicates that it offers over 22,000 products; if the kids lines has been proven to not live up to what’s advertised, it makes me wonder about their other products. Why should they be any better?
This speaks directly to a post from a few weeks ago, “ do you know what’s in your vitamins? ” The sad truth is that the health foods & nutritional supplement market is very poorly regulated, and we need to be viewing any and all products with a careful eye. We’re buying these products to improve our health, but if we are not fully aware of what we’re spending our money on, at best we can be getting something that isn’t as good as it should be, while at worst, we can be getting something that is harmful to us.
Activia’s advertising taken down a notch
This one took place a while ago, but I’d only just heard. Dannon had been advertising that it’s yogurt products, Activia and DanActive, have probiotics that have been “clinically” or “scientifically proven” to improve digestive health; with that claim, they have managed to attract a large group of consumers willing to pay a premium for their products.
This case is not so cut-and-dried as the other two above. There indeed has been a lot of research into probiotics, and the results look quite promising. Probiotics have for centuries been recognized to have beneficial effects, although they are not necessarily the solution to all digestive problems.
When searching for blog topics, a friend had suggested I discuss Activia vs. other yogurts. At the time, I had simply assumed that Dannon had the better marketing campaign, and there’s probably no difference. I now know that Dannon spends millions of dollars backing research into probiotics; and their mission is “ to formulate DANONE products with health benefits based on scientific evidence ” They’re putting their money where their mouths are. As a result of the suit , they were on the hook for $45 million dollars, and had to replace their claims with “clinical studies show” and the like, but in my humble opinion, they are on the right track. If you try them and you feel better in a few weeks – great! If not, then it might not be the balance of gut bacteria in your system that’s your problem, or the Dannon product isn’t right for you.
In any case, it’s always good when companies are held to account for their actions. However, we can’t rely on a class action suit to make us savvier consumers. Some companies are fantastic, and some will do anything for a buck…be skeptical, be wary, and do your homework!
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