Woman Seeks $50 Million in Damages Caused by Mislabeled Fat Content

NEW YORK--A former New York Post columnist is suing Robert's American Gourmet Food Inc., based in Sea Cliff, N.Y., for labeling its "Pirate's Booty" corn puffs as having 2.5 g of fat per 1-oz. serving--even though it tested for 8.5 g. According to the Post, Meredith Berkman filed papers in Manhattan's Supreme Court to collect damages for "exposure to high-fat, high-calorie food, weight gain . mental anguish, outrage and indignation." The suit is for $50 million.

The labeling problem was first brought to the public's attention in December 2001 when the company initiated a recall of three products--Pirate's Booty, Fruity Booty and Veggie Booty--due to mislabeled nutrient claims. In all, 2,200 4-oz. bags were recalled with a sell-by date of June 11, 2002. In the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall, the agency names Robert's as the creator and distributor of the snacks and Easton, Pa.-based Keystone Foods as the manufacturer. (For more on the recall, visit www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2002/ENF00736.html.)

Additional coverage of this issue was in the March 2002 Good Housekeeping. The magazine's consumer product evaluation laboratory, The Good Housekeeping Institute, learned of the discrepancy in content claims after sending 10 bags of Pirate's Booty to an independent lab earlier this year. Not only did the tests indicate a 6-g inconsistency in fat content, but that the puffs also had more calories than what was labeled--147 vs. 120 per serving. (For more on the Institute's findings, visit magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/archive/0,12872,404902,00.html.)

According to a letter on Robert's Web site (www.robscape.com), the company blamed its manufacturing facilities for the product problem. As a result, Robert's installed new machines that make the three snacks in question.

"Due to these changes in manufacturing, there was a need to adjust the amount of cheese to the Pirate's Booty and in turn the nutrition facts have changed," the statement read. Pirate's Booty is now labeled as having 128 calories and 5 g of fat per 1-oz. serving. In terms of the ingredient panel, corn meal is now labeled the first ingredient rather than rice. According to the Post, The Good Housekeeping Institute has verified Pirate's Booty is now properly labeled.

Berman, who was shocked into action after reading the new package claims while waiting in line at the grocery store, told the Post that this suit is meant to publicize the company having essentially lied to people who thought these snacks were low-fat. Any money she wins from the suit, according to the newspaper, will be donated to an eating disorder center. For more on the Post's story, visit www.nypost.com/seven/04132002/news/regionalnews/14302.htm).

Calls to the distributor and manufacturer were unreturned by press time.