The Animal Legal Defense Fund is suing Hormel Foods over Hormel’s labels describing some pork products as “natural,” claiming the labels are deceiving to customers.
The ALDF filed the lawsuit last week in Washington, DC. Meatingplace reports the complaint takes aim at the processor’s Natural Choice brand of lunch meats and bacon, pitting its slogan “Make the Natural Choice” and claims like “100 percent Natural” and “All-Natural” against consumers’ understanding of what “natural” means.
The lawsuit cites Consumer Reports research that found about 60{75e25ebeb47fb4337942be2c10689dca1c292c2a66240b62c5ca4214f5b25ecc} of consumers believe “natural” to mean animals were raised using “sustainable” farming techniques on “independent” family farms, and the products are free of artificial ingredients. However, USDA’s definition of “natural” is only: “A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is minimally processed.”
The Hormel contends that the Natural Choice advertising uses language regarding “Natural” and “No Preservatives” that was approved by USDA for the products' labels, and they within legal boundaries.
Source: NAFB News
photo credit: Hormel
