This is food for thought.
New York’s “vanilla vigilante” lawyers — known for suing food and beverage brands over misleading labeling — say there are some popular products that shoppers should look out for if they want to avoid being ripped off at the supermarket.
Spencer Sheehan made headlines for launching a $5 million class action lawsuit against Kellogg in 2021, claiming their Whole Grain Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts contained insufficient amounts of actual strawberries.
While the suit was dismissed, the Great Neck, Long Island-based attorney has also gone after other supermarket staples, including Snapple, saying their “all natural” fruit drinks contain surprisingly little real juice.
“Just be careful — because companies are trying to scam people,” Sheehan, 44, told The Post in a new interview.
New York’s “vanilla vigilante” lawyer, Spencer Sheehan, is looking for deceptive labeling. NY Post illustration
Sheehan made headlines in 2021 by suing Kellogg’s, claiming that their Whole Grain Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts contained insufficient amounts of actual strawberries. The suit was rejected – so he turned to mint. Amazon
Sheehan has also gone after other supermarket staples, including Snapple, saying their “natural” fruit drinks don’t contain sufficient amounts of natural juice at all. Amazon
Read on for Sheehan’s list of the worst offenders in grocery aisles across the country:
Bread and juice
The legal eagle believes that the most deceptive packages are often on bread and fruit juice — and he urges consumers not to be swayed by fancy words and images.
“Many breads in the supermarket bread aisle will bear labels and names such as ‘multigrain’, ‘stone grain’ ‘oat grain’ and ‘hearty wheat’ when in fact they are only refined grains,” Sheehan said in the suit.
Spencer Sheehan, 44, is a New York attorney known for suing food and beverage brands over their allegedly deceptive labeling. He told The Post that there are some popular products that buyers should look carefully at if they want to avoid being scammed at the supermarket.
Earlier this year, Sheehan also represented angry consumers in filing a lawsuit against Bimbo Bakehouse, accusing the company of falsely branding Cheesecake Factory-licensed bread as whole grain.
“Despite labeling the Product as ‘Brown Bread,’ with a dark brown color … the Product is not made primarily from whole grains,” the suit reads.
That case was also dismissed by a judge, but Sheehan pointed out that many other bread brands made false claims.
Earlier this year, Sheehan represented angry consumers in filing a lawsuit against Bimbo Bakehouse, accusing the company of falsely branding the Cheesecake Factory’s licensed bread as whole grain. The suit was dismissed by the judge.
Meanwhile, lawyers claim that “fruit” juice companies are another egregious offender of dubious labeling.
“Many products in the juice aisle will be described as ‘mango,’ ‘passion fruit’ or ‘pineapple’ when most are white grape juice or apple juice with just a hint of mango or passionfruit or pineapple flavor,” Sheehan insists.
‘Vanilla’ flavored products
Sheehan was previously dubbed New York’s “vanilla vigilante” for filing multiple lawsuits against companies that claimed their products contained real vanilla.
Last year, Sheehan’s law firm reached a $2.6 million settlement with Blue Diamond over a proposed federal class action over the company’s Almond Breeze vanilla-flavored milk and yogurt products.
Meanwhile, he has also involved Chobani in litigation over two vanilla-flavored yogurts.
Sheehan law firm reaches settlement with Blue Diamond over proposed federal class action over the company’s Almond Breeze vanilla-flavored milk and yogurt products.Amazon
In legal papers filed in New York State Supreme Court last year, Sheehan asserted that the word “vanilla” was misleading on both Chobani’s oat-based and vanilla-strawberry vanilla yogurt.
“Flavors used to simulate … that characterize the taste of vanilla are not from the vanilla bean, [but] from artificial petrochemical sources and made through artificial processes,” he stressed.
The Post contacted the yogurt company for comment.
“Most things that have capital letters telling you it’s vanilla don’t actually contain any vanilla,” Sheehan told The Post.
In fact, Sheehan has filed more than 100 lawsuits against food companies for allegedly deceiving consumers by claiming that their products contain real vanilla.
Sheehan has also embroiled Chobani in litigation over two of their vanilla-flavored yogurts.
America’s favorite snack
Sheehan also targets the makers of some of America’s favorite snacks in his long list of lawsuits.
He has filed a lawsuit against the makers of Hint of Lime Tostitos, alleging that there is an absence of lime in the popular corn chips and that the labeling is double-edged.
Lawyers have also taken Keebler to task, saying that the company’s mint fudge cookies lack actual fudge and mint.
Trident is also in Sheehan’s sights, with lawyers claiming in court documents that Original Flavor gum does not contain actual peppermint, despite a picture of the plant appearing on its packaging.
Sheehan has also taken a swipe at Keebler’s fudge-mint cookies, claiming there is a lack of actual fudge and mint in the popular snack product. Amazon
Additionally, The Post reported in 2021 that Sheehan represented a Wisconsin woman after she claimed her pizza-flavored Bagel Bites did not use real cheese.
The suit alleges that the maker of the lunch staple, Kraft Heinz, lied to consumers by putting a “real” dairy stamp on its products.
Sheehan has also sued Conagra Brands for claiming that its popular Chocolate Fudge Pudding Snack Packs are “made with real milk.”
The attorney claims in the suit that neither ingredient meets the Food and Drug Administration’s definition of milk because it does not contain enough milk fat.
Last year, The Post reported that Sheehan represented a Wisconsin woman after she claimed her pizza-flavored Bagel Bites didn’t use real cheese.
Sheehan has also sued Conagra Brands over her claim that their popular Snack Pack Chocolate Fudge Pudding is “made with real milk.”
Muesli, granola and energy bars
New York City nutritionist Dr. Lisa Young agrees that labels on supermarket staples can be dangerous.
She told The Post that muesli products, granola and energy bars are also among the worst offenders.
Young said such food items are often marketed as “better-for-you products,” tricking shoppers into believing they have health benefits. Therefore, consumers not only prefer to buy those items, they are also more likely to consume snacks in larger quantities.
Meanwhile, both Sheehan and Young agree that shoppers are easily swayed by misleading labelling.
“When I shop, I don’t have a lot of time,” Sheehan admits, saying she often has to hold herself back from believing the claims on the front of an aesthetically pleasing package. “I’m in a hurry and I’m doing two things at once.”
Young said many of the highly processed packaged food items are also cheaper to buy than organic options, which can be especially problematic for families struggling to make ends meet during astronomical inflation.
What to do when a box of Strawberry Pop-Tarts is cheaper than a box of real strawberries?
Legal eagles believe that the most deceptive packages are often on bread and fruit juice — and are urging consumers not to fall for fancy words and images. Shutterstock / Land Pictures
Sheehan and Young say it’s important for shoppers to be skeptical every time they enter a supermarket — and flip through boxes or bottles to scan ingredient lists and any fine print.
“Don’t ignore any demands [made by manufacturers],” Young pleaded. “Item No. 1 you want to see is the list of ingredients — and the order of the ingredients. That is very important.”
However, Sheehan and Young aren’t sounding the “BS” food label alarm in an effort to shame shoppers about their eating habits or make them feel more anxious and guilty about their purchases.
They just want to raise awareness of how widespread the dubious claims are.
“It’s okay to eat, it’s okay to have fun,” Young declares — as long as you know what’s in it.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
