Frivolous Lawsuit of the Day
From the Foundry blog at Heritage.org:
Parents, be forewarned: there’s a terrible danger out there. Delicious, sweet, spreadable chocolate is available for purchase in your supermarkets, but it’s NOT healthy for your kids! Who would have thought?!? But ignorance is bliss — very bliss — and in the case of Uninformed Moms vs. Nutella, it was worth $3.5 million in a class action lawsuit settlement.
This latest example of the U.S. legal system run wild comes to us from California where two mothers filed suit against Ferrero USA, Inc., the maker of Nutella — a spreadable, chocolate-flavored hazelnut product. ABC News reports that one of the plaintiffs — Athena Hohenberg of San Diego — sued the company because she was confused into thinking that Nutella is a health food, and she was “was shocked to learn” that Nutella “was the next best thing to a candy bar.”
The root of their claim is that the company is guilty of false advertising. The TV ad for Nutella highlights how the product is made from “simple, quality ingredients like hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of coco.”
According to one of the plaintiffs, “I thought it was at least as nutritious as peanut butter if not more and that’s the impression I got from the advertisement. I thought it had health benefits and it clearly doesn’t.”
Now, the company is settling for $3.5 million — or anywhere from $4 to $20 per person in the class.
The ability of people to file frivolous lawsuits is one of the country’s biggest problems. Stories like this make for a good laugh but the underlying issue is not funny at all.
I don’t know if I’m too dumb, too smart, or too reasonable.
When I saw the Nutella adds spoken of, I thought to myself, “Self, that’s true but kind of ‘funny’. Yes, most people would prefer to eat a nice slice of healthy whole grain bread with Nutella on it than plain or a healthy spread like ‘Sma*** Bal***’, but I think it’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that as the best recipe for a healthy breakfast.”
I did not say to myself, “Self, get your relative or friend the lawyer to bring a suit for false advertising, and you can not only get back $4 for buying a jar of Nutella during that time, but get a hunk of the big fat lawyer’s fees check, which is really the only reason to bring this suit.”
Of course, it may have been that I just don’t know any lawyers that would have gone along with such a scheme. (But I actually don’t think so).
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:42 amFrivolous lawsuits once forced a governor to resign her office.
CrustyB (69f730) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:45 amA Lawyer will make $Millions, while those NOT hurt by the product at all will get $4 (I’ll bet less). The only one hurt in this whole mess will be me, an apparently idiot member of the 48% of us still working. Frivolous doesn’t even start to identify this mess.
dfbaskwill (ca54bb) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:54 amThe lawyers make the money. The class gets peanuts.
(If at all a comfort, the product liability insurer is the one who is settling this case. But then it means, if you are insured by that insurer, or that the reinsurer is insured by the reinsurer of your insurer, your rate goes up by about a penny.)
The bottom line, in my opinion, is that if Nutella is marketing this trash, it deserves everything it gets.
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:55 am“Delicious, sweet, spreadable chocolate is available for purchase in your supermarkets, but it’s NOT healthy for your kids! Who would have thought”
Unfortunately for the company, they didn’t choose the advertising route of telling people that this was just like giving your kids a palm oil and sugar candy bar for breakfast.
TJ (6eeaf5) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:55 amI’m heading out at lunch time to buy a jar I may not even eat. Those “concerned mothers” can go pound sand.
dfbaskwill (ca54bb) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:55 amten thousand of Them
Colonel Haiku (51e9e1) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:02 amat teh bottom of teh 0cean
would be a good start
Hey, it’s got ground hazelnuts in it which are good for you, and cocoa which is good for you. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.
I think it would be good in conjunction with other advanced interrogation techniques: “I’ll make a deal with you, turn off that purple giant puppet noise and give me 2 more slices of bread with this stuff on it, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know, at least until I want some more toast and stuff” (loose translation from the Arabic).
Indeed, it is the lawyer that makes the money, that’s why I bet that the lawyer that litigated this case is a friend or relative of one of the two moms named in the suit.
Peanut butter is “good for you” only as it is used in reasonable amounts instead of meat products, IMO (and I do eat lots of it).
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:10 amI am a defense lawyer, Haiku, not plaintiff. And I understand personal responsility. (I have been smoking for 45 years and nobody forced me to.) But these guys, who market that crap, take a calculated risk that they could be sued and add it to the price of the product.
My family rented our apartments for forty years. We took pride in our product, a place people could raise their kids in. We didn’t say, “let them sue us, we have insurance”.
Your mileage may vary.
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:13 amExcept unless it is on sale, it is expensive, and we buy the off-brand of hazelnut/cocoa spread.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:13 amYou can also get almond butter/cocoa and…
are you sitting down…
peanut butter/cocoa, which is like a big jar of Reese’s peanut butter cup filling, except maybe a little healthier if it is with organic nuts and cocoa, and less processing.
What other products deserve to be sued for being not healthy?
JD (318f81) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:15 amSoon companies will simply stop doing business in California, just as newspapers around the country have “no go zones” in hazardous areas where the safety of its circulation employees and carriers are at risk.
Companies doing business in California are not only finding the business climate unfriendly, but in the case of Nutella, finacially hazardous.
Corky Boyd (9c6284) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:20 amAs I said previously, when I saw the adds, I did not see any claim made that Nutella itself was healthy, but that putting it on healthy things like whole grain bread and fruit like bananas (if you think bananas are healthy) would make it easy for the kids to eat it.
or try it in plain yogurt, instead of all of that sugar that goes into yogurt with fruit or vanilla flavoring…
It says the one mom was from California. I wonder if filing this claim in California, “the land that common sense forgot”*, was key to its success.
*”California, the land that common sense forgot” is a phrase hereby claimed as original to me, and all use for financial gain will be negotiated through my legal counsel.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:21 amI think if one can sue Nutella over the truthfulness of its ads in CA, and this is the new standard in clarity of expression, something ought to be able to be done to prevent Obama (and most politicians) from ever opening their mouths in that state again. (except if to eat Nutella).
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:23 amWhat other products deserve to be sued for being not healthy?
Comment by JD — 5/1/2012 @ 8:15 am
I am not that wise, JD. Nobody deserves to be hurt. (Well, ok, a few do.) But it is a calculated risk with Nuttela and Marlboro. They sit around a table discussing it, decide to pay their money and take their chances.
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:42 am_______________________________________________
Athena Hohenberg of San Diego
There are certain communities or professions where surveys indicate a huge percentage (perhaps up to or more than 80%) are of the left. So it’s not painting with an overly broad brush to guess that Hohenberg is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, and that those filing her case (meaning people from the profession of trial lawyers) lean in a similar direction. But, of course, such people are so humane, generous, sophisticated, kind-hearted, beautiful, responsible, sensible and wonderful, so that absolves them of any bad things they may inadvertently be guilty of.
Liberalism means never having to say you’re sorry.
Mark (411533) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:48 am“What other products deserve to be sued for being not healthy?
Comment by JD — 5/1/2012 @ 8:15 am”
JD – Although one of the moron plaintiff’s in this case admits she did not even both reading the plainly visible nutrition label, nuisance suits don’t have to be over healthy products. Just remember the idiot who sued McDonalds because she burned her crotch after she spilled her coffee because she didn’t know coffee was hot.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:01 amIt’s tough to indemnify against stupidity.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:06 amMy most egregious product defense case: My client made the skewer for the gyros. The employer provided the band saw that sliced it, and trained the employee (who, it came out in testimony, spent more time in the bathroom than on job, but you don’t go there.) The employee sliced off the tip of his thumb. He had already gotten Workmen’s Comp for medical bills and lost income. His lawyer had the same “jailhouse” tattoo that I do. We settled. We sent a check to the employee for $2,000.00, I got a check from my client for $3,000.00.
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:15 amI thought it was at least as nutritious as peanut butter if not more and that’s the impression I got from the advertisement. I thought it had health benefits and it clearly doesn’t.
I suspect this is two counts of perjury because it is clear she’s never had a single “thought” much less two.
Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:17 amI agree.
There must be some kind of reform. I’m tired of seeing the legal system used as a weapon, benefiting liars and irresponsible people, while penalizing the innocent or the businessman who merely put out a food product for a fair price.
The criminal side of things often uses a grand jury to confirm that cases have enough merit to go to trial. I think civil cases are badly in need of some kind of filter for accuracy and reasonableness before they can pass through to court. Furthermore, there needs to be a penalty of using the legal system to harass people, their employers, their family.
There should be a criminal penalty for harassing people with bogus lawsuits. That doesn’t apply exactly to this nutella case, but it reminds me anyway.
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:18 am“JD – Although one of the moron plaintiff’s in this case admits she did not even both reading the plainly visible nutrition label, nuisance suits don’t have to be over healthy products. ”
If the advertising is contradicted by the accurate nutrition label, then that makes a deception claim against the advertising stronger, not weaker.
“Just remember the idiot who sued McDonalds because she burned her crotch after she spilled her coffee because she didn’t know coffee was hot.”
More accurately, how hot. There’s a movie on this.
TJ (6eeaf5) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:18 amIt is spreadable chocolate. If you think it is good for you then it is a miracle that you learned to tie your shoelaces
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:21 amPart of the product is a nutritional facts label.
It is not true that the company is lying about what the product is.
Anyone who buys new foods for their children without checking the nutritional content (assuming it’s accurately noted on the product) is totally responsible for what they fed their kids.
It’s totally possible for something very glycemic to be made of natural materials.
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:21 amCocoa Puffs, Sugar Smacks, and Fruit loops next on lawsuit hit list. Film at Eleven.
peedoffamerican (606d27) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:23 amEverything in moderation. And Nutella is quite tasty. Eaten off a spoon, just like peanut butter.
PatAZ (f52235) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:23 amIamadimwit is utterly predictable.
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:23 amI’ve never tasted Nutella and I doubt I ever will, but what was the point of regulating food to require nutrition labels?
How can you sue a product for being misleading about its health in a system where all food is required to have these labels?
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:24 amThe Congress can easily fix this. It has the Commerce Power. “If you can read this label, you can’t sue”. So why not? Because the plaintiffs’ bar gives each of the Senators $11,000.00/day at their fundraising breakfasts?
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:26 am“More accurately, how hot. There’s a movie on this.”
TJ – “Corporations are Evil”, right?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:28 am“It is spreadable chocolate.”
Which the company described as “hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of coco.” Thus, deception.
“How can you sue a product for being misleading about its health in a system where all food is required to have these labels?”
Because a nutrition label is not an excuse to have deceptive ads that contradict the label. It’s a risk you run that the fine print isn’t enough to cure your deceptive advertising.
TJ (6eeaf5) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:31 amI just don’t understand how you can be misled when you were given specific, accurate truth.
It’s like saying it is impossible to sell anything that is unhealthy, because even if you tell people precisely how unhealthy it is, any complimentary tone will be interpreted as saying it’s super healthy and all fact labels disclosing reality are now ignored.
So no one can sell anything unhealthy without paying the lawyer tax.
They used to say lawyers produce safety, but this is not true. This kind of lawsuit interferes with an accurate discussion of what products are. It undercuts our responsibility to read these labels.
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:32 am“TJ – “Corporations are Evil”, right?”
It’s called “Hot Coffee.”
TJ (6eeaf5) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:32 amI eat extra creamy chocolate ice cream. It is made from natural ingredients so it must be healthy. I don’t read the nutrition label. If my cholesterol count is up on my next visit to my doctor I will sue the ice cream manufacturers.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:35 amI am going to ramp up my ice cream eating. Who wants to join my lawsuit?
Show of hands.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:40 amHold on. Is “TJ” using the word “deception” as a negative thing.
Oh, dude.
Simon Jester (b5ee35) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:43 ami’m a sucker for the haagen-dazs “five” concept but then I found out they’re completely chocked full of carbs
how disappointing
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:44 am21g per serving isn’t that surprising for ice cream.
I count lactose as sugar too, and I don’t think they do.
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:47 amIt’s like the question of why they put a warning label on dish soap that contains “real lemon juice.” So people don’t put it in their iced tea.
Me, I think of it as evolution in action.
Yup. I look at Nutella and think “That’s a healthy food, like broccoli.”
Simon Jester (b5ee35) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:49 amLactose is sugar: glucose and galactose.
Simon Jester (b5ee35) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:51 am“It’s called “Hot Coffee.””
TJ – How come that moron lady didn’t understand that when she put the cup in her crotch driving her car?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:56 amWhich the company described as “hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of coco.” Thus, deception.
Those ingredients are not in the product?!
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:56 am“TJ – How come that moron lady didn’t understand that when she put the cup in her crotch driving her car?”
As I said: “More accurately, how hot. There’s a movie on this.”
TJ (6eeaf5) — 5/1/2012 @ 9:58 am“Those ingredients are not in the product?!”
No need to play dumb. As you note, they’re not what the product is — it’s a delicious spreadable palm oil and sugar candy bar.
TJ (6eeaf5) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:00 am“As I said: “More accurately, how hot.”
TJ – No need to play dumb. You don’t want hot coffee in your crotch, you don’t put hot coffee in your crotch. It’s JUST that simple.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:06 amIamadimwit is so cute in its sophistry. Every ad should be forced to list every ingredient, and their percentages. Just like the info on the label of the product.
How many deceptive names have you used?
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:07 amTo join the class, you have to swear publically, “I’m stupid beyond all belief and I don’t care who knows it. So send me my four dollars.”
Richard Aubrey (a75643) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:07 amCream Cheese is something like 1/2 the fat of butter and advertised as the “healthy alternative to butter”… Then people spread 4x as much cream cheese on a bagel vs my slathering butter on same.
BfC (fd87e7) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:09 amTJ – How many times have you cooked bacon naked?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:09 am#49, did you have to go there?
Machinist (b6f7da) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:12 amSome of us were looking forward to enjoying delicious bacon in the future, but with that visual…?
Machinist (b6f7da) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:14 amTo combine suits…
some Nutella in coffee with some milk makes a great, quick hazelnut mocha
but the higher the percentage of milk fat in your dairy product addition will make it less healthy
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:18 am“Every ad should be forced to list every ingredient, and their percentages.”
Just when you get close you have to pull away. You said it quite well here: “It is spreadable chocolate.”
I also like how Heritage describes it:
“Delicious, sweet, spreadable chocolate.”
TJ (6eeaf5) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:21 amMD – I am going to sue you for suggesting that. Since you are a doctor, it is my belief that is a healthy suggestion.
JD (318f81) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:22 amAnd if you don’t know it is spreadable chocolate, you are dummerer than a sack of TJ’s, and more deceptive than TJ.
JD (318f81) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:23 amoh but about the nutellatards… first of all you’d have to be really really daft not to realize that this stuff is the same as frosting but here is what you do
first of all you don’t buy “nutella” you buy the store brand – a much better value for your family’s grocery dollar
but then here is what you do – you can mix the hazlenut spread with lowfat yogurt – just whisk it in – whisk whisk whisk – and bam you have a tasty healthful spread for your toast or for dipping apple slices in or just enjoy it in a little cup with one of those teensy relish spoons… whatever. The point is this way you don’t hurt yourself.
Nutella is a great privilege but with this privilege comes responsibility. Let’s be careful out there.
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:24 amNutella never claimed their product would cure cancer, or make ear infections go away, or cause blind people to see.
The “nutritional” information is listed right there on the label.
If people don’t know how to correctly assess the information on the label, that’s not Nutella’s fault.
We live in an increasingly obese society filled with smokers and junk food addicts and undisciplined people who want to blame everyone else for their poor health choices.
Elephant Stone (0ae97d) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:27 amWe need to get McDonalds to sell it too!
Right. Moderation in all things produces the best result for me. Not for straight weight loss (I think a strict carb counting approach is superior), but for how I feel. And who wants to live in a world without cheese or sugar?
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:28 amOne thing’s for sure…it’s not a frivolous lawsuit as far as the civil litigators are concerned—it’s all “milk & honey” for them.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client consumed beer after reading the label that says beer emanates from hops and barley. My client believed he was satisfying his daily ‘whole grains’ intake.”
Elephant Stone (0ae97d) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:29 amPalm oil and sugar are sustainable biofuels.
JD (318f81) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:30 amAll right, it’s not a “health food”, at least not this year, but who said it is unhealthy? If it is unhealthy, why?
http://www.allchocolate.com/health/basics/
Studies show that eating chocolate, primarily dark chocolate, may contribute to improved cardiovascular health. Packed with natural antioxidants, dark chocolate and cocoa sit in the same good-for-you category as green tea and blueberries.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/chocolate-health-benefits_n_1383372.html
Nutella does contain modified palm oil (supposed to be bad) as well as sugar.
But the American Palm Oil Council says:
http://www.americanpalmoil.com/palmtruth.html
…Palm oil is often judged solely on the basis of its saturated fatty acid content, while its numerous health benefits are overlooked. Many reputable scientists have conducted more than 80 research studies in order to help dispel these inaccurate myths and share the truth about palm oil.
The positive results of these nutrition studies have persuaded many to reconsider their previous judgments on palm oil. A major milestone for the positive reputation of palm oil, was when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in 1994 that it would no longer permit the use of “no palm oil” labeling. That news helped reinforce that “facts” rather than “myths” will prevail in regards to palm oil.
The Unjustified “Health Scare” on Palm Oil
Despite the prominent position of palm oil in world markets, it was not marketed extensively in the United States until the early 1980s. By 1985, palm oil had garnered only two percent share of the American market, which was dominated by soybean oil (with over 70% of the market share). Palm oil became the target of a massive negative advertising campaign, including widely published allegations that palm oil is “hazardous to health”. Palm oil was the victim of letter-writing campaigns to food companies complaining of palm oil’s allegedly adverse health effects.
In 1987, a bill was proposed in Congress to impose special labeling restrictions on food products containing tropical oils. The bill was withdrawn following stiff opposition – including criticism by the FDA, the office of the United States Trade Representative, and the scientific community. The campaign against palm oil was unprecedented. Palm oil was used widely throughout the world, and no government had ever labeled it unhealthful. The USFDA criticized the negative advertising campaign.
In February 1992, the Atlantic District office Issued a “Warning Letter” to Goodmark Foods, Inc. concerning fried potato products, stating: “The label statement “NO TROPICAL OILS” represents and suggests that the products contain little or no saturated fatty acids but the labels fail to reveal the level of saturated fatty acids in a serving of these products. Such a statement is further misleading in that the products contain partially hydrogenated oils.
Another page, http://www.americanpalmoil.com/benefits.html says
it does not conbtain transfats, and…
Animal studies have found that tocotrienols may have the abilty to reverse blockage of the carotid artery and platelet aggregration thereby reducing the risk of stroke, arteriosclerosis and other heart disease problems.
Animal studies have found that tocotrienols may exhibit activity against tumor promotion.
Cellular and animal studies have found that tocotrienols may inhibit certain types of cancer.
Palm fruit oil increases ‘good’ HDL, compared to other saturated oils, suach as coconut oil.to promote a healthy cardiovascular health.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:38 amcurrently it is thought that coffee does not cause pancreatic cancer, but helps brain function and prevents Alzheimer’s
we all know that cocoa has anti-oxidants
dairy products have calcium and high quality protein
if you can’t put up with a little bit of simple sugars and some fat in an amount of your own choosing…
go eat some raw organically grown oats (and no carob, that’s cheating…)
If you have peanut butter, and add a huge amount of cocoa powder to it, have you made it more unhealthy? I don’t think so, unless you count eating more of it because it tastes better as making it unhealthy.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:38 amfeets, I’m suing for inaccuracy.
if you put non-brand name nutella in fat-free vanilla yogurt, you still are OD’ing on sugar
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:44 amyou need to put it in plain yogurt, no sugar, no taste, no fun
lemon curd from trader Joe’s works the same way, and is not “healthy”, though it is healthier than pure lemon curd
sorry sorry yes that is how i do it – the low-fat plain yogurt
good catch Mr. Dr. MD
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:51 amWhere is the personal responsibility here? Almost everything can be part of a healthy lifestyle for certain people and dangerous for others.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:51 amThe sad thing is that people sue for all kinds of things and in the end, it is often easier and usually cheaper for the defendant to settle. So thinking up some “crazy” class-action lawsuit has become an income stream for a great many people these days. It doesn’t matter if you can’t win an actual case, all you really need to get is a settlement.
Sue (6623c5) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:53 amPersonal Who?, DRJ?
I need to get some work done now, right after I put down “Nutella” on the grocery list…
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 10:56 amIs there anyone here with a little time that would like to read the legal documents on NadiaNaffe.com’s newest post?
Noodles (3681c4) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:06 amNoodles – I would be cautious going to that site. Read it thru cache.
JD (318f81) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:13 ami told you about my tasty lemon curd cookies yes Mr. MD?
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:14 amremember the idiot who sued McDonalds because she burned her crotch after she spilled her coffee because she didn’t know coffee was hot.
I once had a months long argument about that case on a legal blog that no longer exists. The lawyer even sent me medical literature publications trying to make the case. I have treated such cases. It is an accident and this woman was driving a car at the time. The plaintiff alleged that McDonald’s coffee is hotter then “normal” because hot coffee tastes better, I think McD finally put a warning label on the coffee cup but did not lower the temp as demanded.
Mike K (326cba) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:16 am“Where is the personal responsibility here?”
DRJ – Stop with the crazy talk already!
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:22 amPersonal responsibility is a two-way street. “Buyer beware” is neither a legal nor moral principle. It is “look out for snakes”.
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:27 am“#49, did you have to go there?”
Machinist – Heh. TJ seems to be of the opinion that people don’t learn about risky behavior over time. Cooking bacon naked once is usually enough for most people to not try it again.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:27 amSome of the guys who post here may not realize that Nutella is an ingredient in many of our collective mom’s and gramma’s passed down holiday cookie recipes. The product has been around forever. Who knew our relatives were trying to poison us all these years with those yummy cookies and brownies? And, now I find I am fearing for the delicious heritage family recipes that contain prodigious amounts of butter and sugar. Keep leftist California nannies out of our recipe files!!!!
It’s a silly lawsuit of the type that makes normal people quite angry and makes them despise lawyers who initiate and profit from such theatre. I honestly can’t believe at least one lawyer has commented here that he supports it.
elissa (ac0c96) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:36 amElissa – PALM OIL AND SUGAR! aND COCOA!
JD (318f81) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:44 am““Buyer beware” is neither a legal nor moral principle.”
nk – But if a buyer tries to pretend a product is something other than what a reasonable person would interpret it to be there is no reason they should collect a legal jackpot or cost the maker of the product substantial monies defending litigation under our system. These are simple concepts.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 11:54 amJD–If the lefties were shocked at how strongly farm families reacted to the proposed regulations to limit “child labor”, the nanny staters will be totally stunned by the pushback from our grandmeres, nonnas, bubbes, grams, and abuelas when they mess with treasured family recipes. Just sayin’.
elissa (ac0c96) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:02 pmI had no idea.
It’s true that a lot of classic recipes, back when we didn’t have an obesity epidemic, would be considered unhealthy by those who say they know about such things.
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:11 pmelissa – They will never get the Peeps out of my microwave!
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:12 pmFrom Wikipedia–the history of Nutella
An older recipe, Gianduja, was a mixture containing approximately 50% almond and/or hazelnut paste and 50% chocolate. It was developed in Piedmont, Italy, after taxes on cocoa beans hindered the manufacture and distribution of conventional chocolate.
Pietro Ferrero, who owned a patisserie in Alba, in the Langhe district of Piedmont, an area known for the production of hazelnuts, sold an initial batch of 300 kilograms (660 lb) of “Pasta Gianduja” in 1946. This was originally a solid block, but in 1949, Pietro started to sell a creamy version in 1951 as “Supercrema”.
In 1963, Pietro’s son Michele revamped Supercrema with the intention of marketing it across Europe. Its composition was modified and it was renamed “Nutella”. The first jar of Nutella left the Ferrero factory in Alba on 20 April 1964. The product was an instant success and remains widely popular.
elissa (ac0c96) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:27 pmI don’t like Nutella. (please don’t hurt me)
Noodles (3681c4) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:35 pmNoodles, it doesn’t matter whether you like the taste of Nutella or not. What matters is how you feel about the taste of the lawsuit.
elissa (ac0c96) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:39 pmJust making a joke. 😉
Yeah, I think these crazy lawsuits are a symptom of our nanny state society. Wasn’t like every politician ever supposed to reform this?
Noodles (3681c4) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:48 pmThe makers of Marshmallow Fluff better watch out.
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 12:51 pm“The makers of Marshmallow Fluff better watch out.”
JD – That stuff is awesome in Vitamin D, isn’t it?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 1:03 pmIt is healthy, made from some natural products.
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 1:05 pmmembers of the settlement class should receive their payment and a free sterilization procedure, for the sake of the gene pool.
redc1c4 (403dff) — 5/1/2012 @ 1:08 pmWho knew, trying to get around tax policy in Italy in the 1940’s ends up with a lawyer-backed sting in the US in 2012.
Who says the lawyewrs aren’t in a comnspiracy to ru
in the worldI still want to know the connection between the lawyer and the plaintiffs.
While we’re talking about chocolate and hazelnuts, anybody else remember this candy called “Ice Cubes” that you could buy at the checkout counter years ago, little gold foil wrapped for 2 cents each, then larger silver for 25 cents each? I don’t know if it is just the trick of memory, but I don’t remember anything with chocolate being better. has anyone seen them the last 10 years??
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 2:03 pm“Cocoa Puffs, Sugar Smacks, and Fruit loops next on lawsuit hit list. Film at Eleven.”
OH NO! Not Fruit Loops! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. Next they’ll want my Frosted Flakes 🙁
Larry Geiger (365d0e) — 5/1/2012 @ 2:04 pmCan we file a civil litigation lawsuit against Obama for his dishonesty in advertising ?
After all, I get indigestion everytime he opens his mouth.
The label on his packaging claimed to be a day’s worth of vitamins and minerals, for every serving.
Elephant Stone (0ae97d) — 5/1/2012 @ 2:30 pmBut I swear, it tastes like….(and you know it’s coming)….dog food !
grandma good with cakes
elissa (d61400) — 5/1/2012 @ 3:04 pmbut has no recipes for
meatloaf made from dog
Class actions….
AD-RtR-OS! (b8ab92) — 5/1/2012 @ 4:00 pmI received three vouchers for claims in a class action against AGE (now Wells Fargo Advisers).
The total damages were well into the MMillion$; my three vouchers totaled just under $25 – they went into the shredder.
I feel confident that the attorneys will walk away with compensation in the 8-figure range(or more).
I eat Nutella straight out of the jar…
Am I gonna die?
Leviticus (870be5) — 5/1/2012 @ 4:05 pm“Am I gonna die?”
Leviticus – I can guarantee you will. Just not when or from what.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/1/2012 @ 4:11 pm#94…
ewwww
yes
Colonel Haiku (51e9e1) — 5/1/2012 @ 4:13 pmthe first thing we do
Colonel Haiku (51e9e1) — 5/1/2012 @ 4:49 pmlet’s kill all trial lawyers
john edwards real slow
But one of the plaintiffs — Laura Rude-Barbato, a mother of three — said that reading food labels is out of the question. ”If I stopped to read every label, I’d probably spend four or five hours in the grocery store,” she said.
So she would rather endanger her children, hm??? Can we say unfit mother!
Frivolous can go both ways.
Dana (4eca6e) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:06 pmAthena Hohenberg of San Diego — sued the company because she was confused into thinking that Nutella is a health food, and she was “was shocked to learn” that Nutella “was the next best thing to a candy bar.”
This one is just stupid and should probably not be allowed to be responsible for any children.
Dana (4eca6e) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:07 pmLeviticus – just wash your finger first and you should be fine.
James Bond (c41574) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:07 pmWhat Dana said. Times dos.
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:23 pmThough i had no nutella in the house, in honor of the discussion, I took a bowl of vanilla yogurt, added some peanut butter (no hazelnuts to be found) and cocoa powder, mixed it together, and had it for dinner.
yes, i did.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:40 pmI am going to buy a jar after my swim tonight. Palm oil. GASP
JD (2585aa) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:43 pmfeets, i don’t remember lemon curd cookies. i do have a recipe for orange pie saved on my other computer, though
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:45 pmhere you go Mr. MD they are super easy and very very tasty you will enjoy them a lot!
they need to be eaten by the next day pretty much, but that hasn’t been a problem yet and I made them several times
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 5/1/2012 @ 5:51 pmIs our very own happyfeet about to change to the ID of happyfoodie ?
(grin)
Alasdair (1a8524) — 5/1/2012 @ 6:07 pmnonono Mr. Alasdair I eschew carbohydrates now except for what accidentally come with the tasty vegetables and occasional fruits I juice in my brand new juicer
at least for the next few weeks
I already have my carbless meals ready for tomorrow!
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 5/1/2012 @ 6:11 pmI just finished a zumba class and am running to the market to get some Nutella. I figure I’ll just break even.
Dana (4eca6e) — 5/1/2012 @ 6:19 pm89. Comment by MD in Philly — 5/1/2012 @ 2:03 pm
While we’re talking about chocolate and hazelnuts, anybody else remember this candy called “Ice Cubes” that you could buy at the checkout counter years ago, little gold foil wrapped for 2 cents each, then larger silver for 25 cents each? I don’t know if it is just the trick of memory, but I don’t remember anything with chocolate being better. has anyone seen them the last 10 years??
I don’t remember them, but the shape once I found them looks vaguely familiar. You said last ten years so I did a search.
You can get them on Amazon.com (just click on the link and search for or or something like that.)
You can buy 120 of them for about $38 and some cents (that works out to about 3 for a $1.00. But there’s shipping, so they are about 40 cents each.)
On eBay there is package of 82 for $24.00 (29 cents or so each) but with the shipping it again comes to around 40 cents a piece.
And there are other places too you can find using Google.
I don’t know the size of each chocolate ice cube. It could be they shrunk since you last saw them.
Sammy Finkelman (f79257) — 5/1/2012 @ 6:24 pmThanks sammy
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:21 pmThere is a Salsa from Costa Rica that we love, my son found a place on the web to buy a case of it, about time to order another.
Feets, i don’t know about goat cheese…I think I’ll leave that for nk…maybe we’ll try some cream or neufchatel
Goat cheese need not be an issue. Just gently pull back the foreskin and wash around and under the glans. Your goat will appreciate it.
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:35 pm:/
Dustin (330eed) — 5/1/2012 @ 7:38 pmnk- what have you been drinking?
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:05 pmLawyers… at some point 500 years from now when they write the book on why the USoA is no longer a power, a chapter will be created for lawyers, their profession and endless desire to live off the host. Tapeworms who go out from one anus into another.
Anyway, make all lawyers financially responsible for Defendant’s expenses 10X if they take the case on contingency and lose in court.
The slime bag lawyers who create these cases will blow away unless their truly is a real issue to litigate. It also provides an investment type opportunity for Defendants who can fund their lawyers.
Bill (af584e) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:17 pmZoloft, Lopressor, and Ativan. Why?
nk (875f57) — 5/1/2012 @ 8:43 pmUnfortunately for the company, they didn’t choose the advertising route of telling people that this was just like giving your kids a palm oil and sugar candy bar for breakfast.
Comment by TJ — 5/1/2012 @ 7:55 am
— TJ supports the trial lawyers? Color me SHOCKA!
Icy (f263d7) — 5/2/2012 @ 5:20 amTJ:
If the advertising is contradicted by the accurate nutrition label, then that makes a deception claim against the advertising stronger, not weaker.
— The advertising didn’t contradict anything. Pay attention!
Which the company described as “hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of coco.” Thus, deception.
Icy (f263d7) — 5/2/2012 @ 5:40 am— There is nothing ‘deceptive’ about it. What, they should have been required to disclose on tv that it has sugar in it? And what’s the point of having those government-mandated nutrition labels on the jar if people that admittedly chose not to read the labels get to sue over their own ignorance, and win???
Icy, TJ knows that there was no contradiction. He is gunning for a reaction.
The labels were government regulation. I assume they make products more expensive, but it’s actually a good regulation because it helps ensure deals are knowing and open.
The presumption with such trades should be that buyers knew what they were buying.
Dustin (330eed) — 5/2/2012 @ 5:46 amThis isn’t a class action suite. But it is rather funny nonetheless.
Man sues BMW for 20-month erection after bike ride
Maybe he should just go for other bike ride?
MSL (f060a0) — 5/2/2012 @ 7:09 amNutella is not something we have around the house. I have seen commercials, however, which led me to believe it was a healthy alternative to peanut butter. I’ve never purchased it, and never looked at the ingredients- but that is the impression I had from casual exposure to their advertising. When my teen girls and I read the article we actually were shocked that it is so bad for you. Individuals need to be responsible for what they purchase, however. There are many products that I have picked up, looked at the ingredients, and put back after I saw that-surprise- the advertisers lied or misled.
Janet (696ff6) — 5/2/2012 @ 7:32 amHeh! I didn’t need to ride my cherry red Sportster, yet, to get that loving feeling. Walking to it at 5:00 a.m. on a cool Chicago morning was enough. And pulling out in second gear from a stoplight was climactic.
nk (875f57) — 5/2/2012 @ 7:32 amTJ,
Obama’s sales pitches claimed he was just a sweet guy “from the neighborhood” who wanted not red states and blue states, but united states. He promised on television that the oceans would be lowered, the national debt would be greatly reduced, unemployment would go down, and that health insurers would not raise their premiums after ObamaCare was passed. He also said on television that there were tons of shovel ready projects waiting for federal monies to commence infrastructure improvements.
In other words, Obama asserted on television that our nation’s health would improve under his administration. Well, we’ve had 36 different doctors take the nation’s blood pressure, heart rate, and assess blood work, as well 5 radiologists examine the MRIs, the ultrasounds, and the X-rays, and their reports all conclude that our nation’s health has deteriorated dramatically during the past 3 and a half years.
Someone should sue him for false advertising. You were complicit in all that stuff, because you were the guy on the internet telling everyone that
NutellaObama was a health food.You lied.
Elephant Stone (0ae97d) — 5/2/2012 @ 7:36 amNutellaObama is junk food.Being 7/8ths German, I grew up on the stuff.
I thought the ads were the most idiotic and dishonest ads since Obama campaign ads.
“Just a hint of Cocoa” and the whole “great on wheat bread” should get the entire marketing department/ad agency promoted to the K. Korean Ministry of Propaganda.
But I still buy it knowing what it is, although I have run out and walked past it a few times in the store just because I hate the idea that the idiots managing the company think I am dumb enough to do so because of those ads.
Smarty (811837) — 5/2/2012 @ 8:38 amDammit, Janet threatened to leave the country if this was elected:
Nutella is not something we have around the house. I have seen commercials, however, which led me to believe it was a healthy alternative to peanut butter.
— Sure. In fact, that’s the slogan printed on the jar’s label, isn’t it? “A Healthy Alternative to Peanut Butter.” Well then, they MUST be liable for damages after making such an outrageous claim. Here we have moms that FOR YEARS have been searching in vain for a replacement — all the while masking the vile peanut butter with some type of sugar, fruit and corn syrup concoction named “jelly” — and now they’ve suffered the indignity of being duped (DUPED, I tells ya!!!) by some evil corporation that dares make a spread with sugar, corn syrup and cocoa already blended in?
How dare they? How . . . DARE they!!!
Think of teh children.
Icy (f263d7) — 5/2/2012 @ 10:07 ami just learned that the special shake this month at m-burger is nutella!
how exciting is that?
I wish it wasn’t so far away
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/2/2012 @ 1:52 pmShow of hands, who thinks smarty is telling the truthy?
JD (2585aa) — 5/2/2012 @ 2:10 pm““Just a hint of Cocoa” and the whole “great on wheat bread” should get the entire marketing department/ad agency promoted to the K. Korean Ministry of Propaganda.”
Smarty – I like sugary stuff on wheat bread, particularly after I toast it. Marmalade is one of my favorites.
What’s your damage?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/2/2012 @ 2:20 pmYou have a wonderful site. I will be sure to keep visiting.
nk Totally Spamming For Fudge Cream Oreos (875f57) — 5/2/2012 @ 2:29 pmWell, it was definitely a well known thing in Europe when rumors of it floated to America.
FWIW, I refer to my original post at #1. Nothing more dishonest in the ad than in 95% of other ads, unless you are talking about political ones, then nothing worse than 100% of those.
If Obama’s speeches were held to the same standards of truth, there would be a blackout of everything he says except, “uh”, “the”, and “and”. Not only that, but nancy pelosi wouldn’t be allowed to speak at all.
The world would be a
little slicelarge hunk of heaven if the worst thing we had to worry about in life was the nutritional value of nutella, or lack thereof. You would think that California was next to perfect to worry about this nonsense.To think that some lawyer got a big payout for this, and the legal system was “occupied” with this…Scotty, bean us up, there is no intelligent life down here…
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/2/2012 @ 2:36 pmHmmm, I just witnessed a never before seen phenomenon, fake spam…”fake spam”????
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/2/2012 @ 2:38 pmI like Fudge Cream Oreos and this site, ok?
And there’s no goat cheese that you cannot make with cow milk. Goat milk is a touch higher in milkfat content but you make that up with cow milk by adding a quart or two of half and half.
My mother always pasteurized it, heating it to when she could hold her forefinger in it to the count of ten. On the islands, they put the enzyme in the raw milk, getting all kinds of flavors and aromas, but they cannot export it under EU rules.
nk (875f57) — 5/2/2012 @ 2:59 pm