Lawsuit against ConAgra for misleading Spray Butter

hausofnichele

Just read this and found it interesting.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-08-17/nebraska-woman-files-lawsuit-against-conagra

AlabasterVerve

Good, I hope more people do the same. Olive oil spray is the same way -- like 1,100 calories a can and the label says zero. They do the same with trans fat. The labeling laws are a joke.

mirandamayhem

I hate those low cal no cal sprays. I used a pampered chef pump when i use oil, so put my own oil in.

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

taylor5877

spray.

"For example, a contributor to (a) website ... writes, 'I could not figure out why I simply could not lose hardly even a pound, even though I was working out hard ... and monitoring calories ... for a couple of years,'" the lawsuit relays. "Well ... I was also literally taking the top of the 'fat and calorie free butter' spray and pouring it on all my carefully steamed veggies when I found out that a bottle of that stuff is 90 fat grams. I was going through two bottles a week, and working out and getting fat and unhealthy."

not sure how I feel about this...

kcpsu18

UMM I don't want to be rude but who unscrews the lid and pours it in their food? It is "SPRAY BUTTER" You are suppose to use a few sprays, not two containers a week!! I can see that maybe they need to put on there the calories for the whole bottle. But come on people!!

AlabasterVerve

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

mirandamayhem

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

So the label says the whole thing is 0 calories? Sorry, not something that would happen here in UK, so i guess I can't comprehend

kcpsu18

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

So the label says the whole thing is 0 calories? Sorry, not something that would happen here in UK, so i guess I can't comprehend

No it says there is 0 in 5 sprays.

AlabasterVerve

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

So the label says the whole thing is 0 calories? Sorry, not something that would happen here in UK, so i guess I can't comprehend

No it says there is 0 in 5 sprays.

But there's not zero calories in 5 sprays or the container wouldn't have 800 plus calories in it. It's deliberately misleading and an absolute joke that our labeling laws allow it.

mirandamayhem

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

So the label says the whole thing is 0 calories? Sorry, not something that would happen here in UK, so i guess I can't comprehend

No it says there is 0 in 5 sprays.

but what else does it say? Does it give the amount of calories per 110mls or whatever?

AlabasterVerve

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

So the label says the whole thing is 0 calories? Sorry, not something that would happen here in UK, so i guess I can't comprehend

No it says there is 0 in 5 sprays.

but what else does it say? Does it give the amount of calories per 110mls or whatever?

Here's a link to the label:

http://www.coheso.com/nutridata/Parkay/Spray/item_details.html

kcpsu18

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

So the label says the whole thing is 0 calories? Sorry, not something that would happen here in UK, so i guess I can't comprehend

No it says there is 0 in 5 sprays.

But there's not zero calories in 5 sprays or the container wouldn't have 800 plus calories in it. It's deliberately misleading and an absolute joke that our labeling laws allow it.

If it is under 5 calories a serving they can label it as zero. A spray uses so little of a bottle that it would be close to zero. A bottle lasts me months. We are too crazy in this country about warning labels. People need to take some responsibility in this country for their own health.

Hayesgang

These are calories in "I can't believe it's not butter" and if you do any type of research you'll find it's 10 calories per teaspoon.

At what point do people start taking responsibility for their actions, it's a joke!!

AlabasterVerve

If it is under 5 calories a serving they can label it as zero. A spray uses so little of a bottle that it would be close to zero. A bottle lasts me months. We are too crazy in this country about warning labels. People need to take some responsibility in this country for their own health.

Don't be ridiculous. It doesn't need a warning label just an accurate one. Why in the world would you advocate for deliberately misleading people?

CarmenSRT

The woman caused her own problems. I hope they throw her out of court on her ear.

AnninStPaul

Thing is, people need to start taking at least a BIT of responsibility over what goes in their mouths, and not claim to be so naive.

Doctors and dieticians tell people to eat that stuff, the FDA says they're safe and then they see the label and it reads zero calories. How is that naive?

So the label says the whole thing is 0 calories? Sorry, not something that would happen here in UK, so i guess I can't comprehend

No it says there is 0 in 5 sprays.

but what else does it say? Does it give the amount of calories per 110mls or whatever?

Here's a link to the label:

http://www.coheso.com/nutridata/Parkay/Spray/item_details.html

It also indicates that 5 sprays = 1 gram

AnninStPaul

If it is under 5 calories a serving they can label it as zero. A spray uses so little of a bottle that it would be close to zero. A bottle lasts me months. We are too crazy in this country about warning labels. People need to take some responsibility in this country for their own health.

Don't be ridiculous. It doesn't need a warning label just an accurate one. Why in the world would you advocate for deliberately misleading people?

The label is not misleading -- the label indicates that 5 sprays = 1 gram. It's not about the food, it's about the portion control (or lack thereof) exhibited by the consumer.

AnninStPaul

The woman caused her own problems. I hope they throw her out of court on her ear.

^^HEAR, HEAR!!

elyelyse

These are calories in "I can't believe it's not butter" and if you do any type of research you'll find it's 10 calories per teaspoon.

At what point do people start taking responsibility for their actions, it's a joke!!

So should people have to independently research every item they buy? Labels are there to provide that info, and while yes, some poeple don't pay attention to things, I think expecting people to doubt every label and research every purchase is unreasonable. I don't think it's fair to say that people who trust the label are irresponsible. ( though yes, the person pouring half a can on their veggies needs educating)

AlabasterVerve

If it is under 5 calories a serving they can label it as zero. A spray uses so little of a bottle that it would be close to zero. A bottle lasts me months. We are too crazy in this country about warning labels. People need to take some responsibility in this country for their own health.

Don't be ridiculous. It doesn't need a warning label just an accurate one. Why in the world would you advocate for deliberately misleading people?

The label is not misleading -- the label indicates that 5 sprays = 1 gram. It's not about the food, it's about the portion control (or lack thereof) exhibited by the consumer.

I feel like I'm being punked... LOL

cserg

I think nutritional labels should be correct if they are required.... period.

While we are at it let's get nutritional information in restaurants too! Then perhaps you won't have people eating 1500 calorie salads and thinking they are making the healthy choice.

Seriously it is hard enough to figure out what to eat when you are trying to loose weight but now we have to be fricking detectives and assume that the labels are lying to us.

hmgarcia83

UMM I don't want to be rude but who unscrews the lid and pours it in their food? It is "SPRAY BUTTER" You are suppose to use a few sprays, not two containers a week!! I can see that maybe they need to put on there the calories for the whole bottle. But come on people!!

put nicely one bottle of spray butter and one small tub of regular lasts me over a month closer to 2 most of the time (depends on hubby on the tub)

Babymomakell

While I agree that she ingested WAY more of this stuff than she should have... I too find the label misleading... she shouldn't have to read the fine print to figure out the calorie intake. It does bother me that companies do this crap just to sell more products, and to me that is misleading...

While I wouldn't be pouring the entire bottle on my food, I prob would be with others who read the label and still missed the calories. It should be listed, period.

RedHeadDevotchka

I don't feel like the woman was being dumb. If you go off of the label, which is WAY more than alot of consumers do, then what other conclusion would you be able to draw from it that it is indeed a calorie free food. I have used this stuff and had no idea.
Sure, it DOES say one spray is a serving, but if one spray is "0" calories and the packaging says it is fat free why is it such a stretch that someone would believe that it is a fat free product?

jesspi68

These are calories in "I can't believe it's not butter" and if you do any type of research you'll find it's 10 calories per teaspoon.

At what point do people start taking responsibility for their actions, it's a joke!!

So should people have to independently research every item they buy? Labels are there to provide that info, and while yes, some poeple don't pay attention to things, I think expecting people to doubt every label and research every purchase is unreasonable. I don't think it's fair to say that people who trust the label are irresponsible. ( though yes, the person pouring half a can on their veggies needs educating)

I agree with this, I shouldn't have to double verify everything I purchase. Those labels are there for a reason and it doesn't matter if it has a half a calorie per serving they should have to put it on there. It's delibrately false advertising so they can make themselves look better.

I should be able to look at the nutritional facts and know they are ACCURATE.

And believe me, I'm the first person in line saying how stupid it is that I need to be told that my coffee is hot, or that I shouldn't use a hair dryer in the shower.

jofjltncb6

So if people don't think it's a can full of oil/fat, what do they *think* is in the can?

They don't know, but they're still okay with consuming copious amounts of the stuff?

Hayesgang

These are calories in "I can't believe it's not butter" and if you do any type of research you'll find it's 10 calories per teaspoon.

At what point do people start taking responsibility for their actions, it's a joke!!

So should people have to independently research every item they buy? Labels are there to provide that info, and while yes, some poeple don't pay attention to things, I think expecting people to doubt every label and research every purchase is unreasonable. I don't think it's fair to say that people who trust the label are irresponsible. ( though yes, the person pouring half a can on their veggies needs educating)

It was national news when the FDA changed the policy regarding the nutritional values and what could be considered "fat-free", "0 calories" etc.

Yes, we should research and not trust all the labels - Potato chips say 1 serving is "1 oz about 16chips" it's not 16 chips is usually 1.5-1.75 oz - Frozen pre-packaged Tilipa says 4oz but the packaging varies some filets are 3.75 and others are 4.25.

RedHeadDevotchka

If it is under 5 calories a serving they can label it as zero. A spray uses so little of a bottle that it would be close to zero. A bottle lasts me months. We are too crazy in this country about warning labels. People need to take some responsibility in this country for their own health.

Don't be ridiculous. It doesn't need a warning label just an accurate one. Why in the world would you advocate for deliberately misleading people?

The label is not misleading -- the label indicates that 5 sprays = 1 gram. It's not about the food, it's about the portion control (or lack thereof) exhibited by the consumer.

Where is it saying that? I see a serving is 1 spray. That is all

TLCEsq

While I agree that we do need better labeling laws (and laws on food avertising and what chemicals are allowed in our food, etc.), the FIRST thing I look at when buying a product in a package is ingredients, not nutrition info. For example I avoid trans fat and even though the label says "Zero trans fat", if there's anything partially hydrogenated in the ingredients, I don't buy it.

The ingredients in the Parkay spray are water, soybean oil, buttermilk, and salt. We all know that soybean oil and buttermilk is not calorie or fat free. There's just a fine line between consumer responsibility and that of the major corporations.

Celestialfairie

So if people don't think it's a can full of oil/fat, what do they *think* is in the can?

They don't know, but they're still okay with consuming copious amounts of the stuff?

^^ This.

So the label isn't exactly clear, but it also takes a little bit of thought and common sense. Sure, it could be easy to believe that it's zero calories... but then I'd be thinking: What is zero calories?

If I'm out to watch what I'm eating and lose weight, I don't think I could pour so much 'unknown' oil/fat onto my food.

BrianSharpe

Anyone can file a lawsuit, winning it is another matter altogether. It boggles the mind that US courts would permit the inclusion of hearsay (ie internet complaints) in a statement of claim.