Et tu, Ben and Jerry???

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Ben & Jerry's Fudging The Truth, Says CSPI U.S. Newswire 30 Jul 10:23

Ben & Jerry's Fudging The Truth, Says CSPI; Nothing 'All Natural' About Artificial Ingredients

To: National Desk Contact: Jeff Cronin, 202-777-8370, or Adam Pearson, 202-777-8316, both of the Center for Science in the Public Interest

WASHINGTON, July 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Ben & Jerry's misleads customers by falsely claiming that some of its ice cream and frozen yogurt products are "All Natural," when they contain artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils, or other factory-made substances, according to a complaint filed today by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The group wants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take enforcement action against the company, a unit of the multinational food conglomerate Unilever.

"Ben & Jerry's enjoys a carefully-cultivated public image as an eco-friendly, worker-friendly brand -- the kind of company whose label claims should be truthful," CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said. "So it's sad that Ben & Jerry's is trying to pass off products laden with these factory-spun ingredients as 'natural,' when there's little natural about them. These ingredients are man-made and simply don't occur in nature."

The label for Ben & Jerry's "Everything But The ..." ice cream states "all natural." But the small print in the ingredient list lists artificial flavors--an outright violation of the FDA's rules.

Other Ben & Jerry's products, like "Chocolate Fudge Brownie Low Fat Frozen Yogurt," include man-made ingredients like partially hydrogenated soybean oil, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, and alkalized cocoa powder. Use of the term "all natural"--and the implication that the product might be more healthful than another product--is especially misleading in the case of a hydrogenated oil, which likely contains heart-damaging trans fat, according to the complaint.

http://www.usnewswire.com -0- /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2002

Answers

Will Unilever leave Ben and Jerry out to melt?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2002

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