Lawsuit Prompts Change In Food Labels

Consumer advocates are always looking out for incorrect food labels. As such, producers have to remain vigilant in maintaining correct labeling practices or risk legal intervention, as General Mills recently learned.

According to the watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest, General Mills will change its labeling for select varieties of its fruit roll-ups product, a popular snack choice among kids, after a lawsuit alleged General Mills misled consumers by not stating correct ingredients on its labels.

No Strawberries In Roll-Ups, Labels Changed To Reflect Complaint
The change in labels resulted from a lawsuit filed by a California resident who claimed General Mills did not provide correct information about "the nutritional and health qualities of its fruit snacks" on labels.

Strawberry Naturally Flavored Fruit Roll-Ups were singled out as one of the offending products. Despite the name, the product is made with pears from concentrate, corn syrup, sugar, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil - among other ingredients - but not strawberries.

In an agreement reached between the two sides, General Mills said it would no longer market the product with images of strawberries so long as the product does not contain any of the fruit in question.