 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
| |
|
 |
|
|
Have you been mislead by a label or marketing showing false information?
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Subscribe to recieve updates from the Stop Labeling Lies Coaliltion |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
| Cub Foods sued over beef labels |
| |
| |
| |
By :
Jennifer Bjorhus - (Pioneer Press)
February 23, 2007
|
| |
Excerpt...
Two Twin Cities shoppers are suing Supervalu Inc. accusing the grocery giant of falsely labeling ordinary beef as more-expensive Black Angus at its Cub Foods stores in Minnesota.
Cub Foods allegedly has been mislabeling the meat for six years and sells as much as 50 million pounds of the wrongly labeled beef a year, according to the complaint, filed Thursday in Anoka County District Court. The lawsuit seeks class-action status for consumers who bought the misidentified beef at any Cub Foods store in the state for the past six years.
Beef from Black Angus cattle is considered more tender and tasty because of its higher fat marbling; it typically costs $1 to $2 more per pound than regular beef. There are dozens of Angus-branded beef products, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture monitors. Supermarkets also frequently have their own brands, and it isn't clear how they are monitored.
According to the complaint, Supervalu has its own brand called "Rancher's Choice Preferred Black Angus Beef." The beef at issue was sold under this label or some other kind of label that said, "Black Angus."
Eden Prairie-based Supervalu is among the nation's largest grocery chains. There are 65 Cub Foods stores in Minnesota.
Supervalu's Cub Division said Thursday that it had just received the lawsuit and couldn't respond. But it also issued a statement saying that if quality standards aren't met "it will be corrected immediately to ensure our responsibility to our customers is intact."
"What we can say is we absolutely stand behind the integrity of our products," the statement said.
In June 2004, Cub announced that it would sell "Rancher's Preferred Black Angus" at its stores. In a press release it described the beef as "steakhouse quality, 100 percent USDA Choice beef raised in the heartland."
The two plaintiffs, Michael Olson of Ham Lake and John Wylde of Coon Rapids, are Cub shoppers. Their case is based on information supplied by two meat cutters who worked for various Cub Food stores in the Twin Cities over the past three to five years, according to Tom Lyons Jr., president of the Consumer Justice Center, a Vadnais Heights law firm representing the plaintiffs. One of the cutters no longer works for Cub.
Lyons said most of the beef Supervalu purchases from outside meat suppliers, including Swift & Co., is regular USDA Choice grade beef. The mislabeling happens after the carcasses are removed from the boxes and cut and packaged for consumers.
"These sources believe it's deliberate — a policy, not by accident," Lyons said.
Lyons said the former employee tried to meet with Cub and Supervalu executives, perhaps as early as two years ago, to complain about the practice, but was ignored. The former employee left them pictures and other information, Lyons said.
Sean McHugh, a spokesman for Greeley, Colo.-based Swift & Co. confirmed Thursday that Swift supplies Cub Foods with both Angus and non-Angus products. The boxes are marked accordingly, he said. The two main Angus brands Swift delivers to Cub are Swift Angus Select Beef and Swift Premium Black Angus Beef.
"Angus labeled product that we produce and deliver to Cub Foods meets all federal requirements and specifications for Black Angus beef," McHugh said.
The lawsuit accuses Supervalu of violating the state's Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act as well as the state Unlawful Trade Practices, Consumer Fraud and False Advertising statutes. It also claims the alleged labeling problem constitutes fraud by omission and unjust enrichment.
|
| |
| <<
Back to News |
| |
|
|
 |
