New Lawsuit Filed against Gerber

Portland, ORWhile Gerber already faces a lawsuit concerning its Good Start baby food, a new lawsuit has been filed against Gerber, this time focused on its Graduate Puffs. The lawsuit claims Gerber misled consumers into buying Graduate Puffs by including fruits and vegetables in the label that do not actually exist in the product. This lawsuit is separate from the Good Start lawsuit, which alleges Gerber misled consumers into thinking its baby food could prevent allergies in infants despite a lack of data to back up that claim.

According to Capital Press (11/30/15), Nancy Henry filed a lawsuit against Gerber and Nestle USA (parent company to Gerber) alleging violations of the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act. Specifically, Henry alleges Gerber Graduate Puffs use the names and images of bananas and sweet potatoes on Puffs labeling when in fact only apple puree is included in the actual product. The lawsuit further alleges that Gerber Peach Puffs has less than two percent peach juice concentrate.

Henry’s lawsuit is not the only suit filed in relation to Gerber Graduate Puffs. Johanna R. Savalli also filed a lawsuit alleging Gerber falsely marketed the product as containing a significant amount of fruits and vegetables when in fact they did not.

Gerber has filed a motion to dismiss that lawsuit, saying the ingredient list is accurate and if Savalli had read the list, she would have known there were not significant amounts of fruits and vegetables contained in the product. Savalli reportedly argued before the court that even though fruits and vegetables are not included in the ingredient list, they appear on the packaging, which is still misleading.

Meanwhile, Gerber faces a lawsuit that it deceptively marketed its Good Start Gentle Infant Formula as preventing the development of allergies in infants, including using the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) term “Qualified Health Claim” to indicate Gerber received FDA approval for the allergy claims. In 2014, the FDA sent Gerber a warning letter that if it did not cease deceitful practices, the agency could commence legal action.

According to court documents filed in relation to the lawsuit, Gerber made its claims regarding allergies despite there being no evidence that the use of partially hydrolyzed whey protein would reduce the risk of allergies.

The Gerber Graduate Puffs lawsuit is Savalli v. Nestle USA Inc. et al., case number 0?15-cv-61554, in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The Gerber Good Start lawsuit is Zakaria vs. Gerber Products Co., Case number 2:15-cv-0200, in the US District Court, Central District of California.