Lawsuit Won't Be A Sweet Victory
Fruit Roll-Ups: The latest naughty kids' food to be sued
A New York woman is suing General Mills, charging the company misled consumers in its marketing for Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit by the Foot, and Fruit Gushers. The plaintiff, Payton McClure, is seeking punitive damages on behalf of her and consumers for claims on the packaging.
McClure says she was a life-long consumer of these products in this $5-million-dollar lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the misleading messages on the packaging, included the claims that the snacks are a good source of Vitamin C, gluten free, low fat, naturally flavored, and under- 50 calories.
The first thing that comes to mind is that fruit doesn't "roll up." Why would anyone think this is healthy?
The lawsuit could hinge on the disclosure that General Mills uses partially hydrogenated oil to create the tasty-but-bad-for-you snacks (partially hydrogenated oil is essentially the equivalent to the evil "trans fat") — without displaying it clearly on the packaging, as everything from potato chips to breakfast sausages does. Instead, on Fruit Roll-Ups, hydrogenated oil is just listed in a very long roll of ingredients.
General Mills has declined to comment to saying they still haven't reviewed the complaint. McClure's lawyer also declined to comment.
Taking this with the recent threatened lawsuit against McDonald's over Happy Meals being pushed with toys, it seems like there's a movement of people fed up with the childhood obesity epidemic. And they're looking for either a solution or a scapegoat.
What do you think? Should Fruit Roll-Ups have to answer for its allegedly deceptive roll?
