PepsiCo's Quaker Sued for Not Flagging Pesticide in Oatmeal

[GennGreymane]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...ide-in-oatmeal

Consumers in New York and California sued PepsiCo Inc.’s Quaker Oats for false advertising over claims that the brand’s signature product contains a possible carcinogen that is not listed as an ingredient.

In court documents, the consumers claim that the company’s oatmeal contains glyphosate, an herbicide the World Health Organization declared a probable carcinogen last year, although an Environmental Protection Agency committee disagreed. They say that oat farmers use the chemical as a weed killer and a drying agent that is sprayed before harvest.

While the suit says there is nothing illegal about the company’s use of glyphosate, the consumers say the product’s “100 Percent Natural” promise and its label, which lists natural whole-grain rolled oats as the main ingredient, are misleading.

“Quaker knows that consumers seek out and wish to purchase whole, natural foods that do not contain chemicals, and that consumers will pay more for foods that they believe to be natural,” lawyers for the New York consumers wrote in a complaint. “By deceiving consumers about the nature, quality, and/or ingredients of its Quaker Oats, Quaker is able to sell a greater volume of Quaker Oats, to charge higher prices for Quaker Oats, and to take away market share from competing products.”

The consumers, whose suits in federal courts in New York and California see class-action status, are seeking damages and refunds. The company did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

[The Casualty]

I'm not at home so I can't look at food labels, but is it required for food manufacturers to add pesticides or fertilizers to ingredient lists?

My only other thought on this is things like "100% All Natural" or "Low Sodium" have to meet certain requirements to be listed. From a cursory search online, it seems that the FDA and the FTC have really loose definitions on the former however. If they are approved to utilize that term (I have no clue if they are), would that mean that they are lying/dishonest or that the FDA and the FTC have really shitty standards, and that's where a lawsuit should be directed?

[IIamaKing]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...ide-in-oatmeal

SO "all natural" must mean organic to these nutters then?

I think the consumers are in the wrong. Keep on keeping on Mr.Quaker.

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I'm not at home so I can't look at food labels, but is it required for food manufacturers to add pesticides or fertilizers to ingredient lists?

My only other thought on this is things like "100% All Natural" or "Low Sodium" have to meet certain requirements to be listed. From a cursory search online, it seems that the FDA and the FTC have really loose definitions on the former however. If they are approved to utilize that term (I have no clue if they are), would that mean that they are lying/dishonest or that the FDA and the FTC have really shitty standards, and that's where a lawsuit should be directed?

Not that I know, because it isn't an ingredient. Their beef seems to stem from the fact that they think "all natural" means "organic" both are just buzz terms to sell yuppies and dummies food 50% more expensive.

[Kujako]

SO "all natural" must mean organic to these nutters then?

I think the consumers are in the wrong. Keep on keeping on Mr.Quaker.

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Not that I know, because it isn't an ingredient. Their beef seems to stem from the fact that they think "all natural" means "organic" both are just buzz terms to sell yuppies and dummies food 50% more expensive.

... no their "beef" is that natural does not mean created in a lab by Monsanto. Words have meaning, as much as you seem to want to dismiss the English language.

nat·u·ral
ˈnaCH(ə)rəl/
adjective
1.
existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind.
"carrots contain a natural antiseptic that fights bacteria"
2.
of or in agreement with the character or makeup of, or circumstances surrounding, someone or something.
"sharks have no natural enemies"
noun
1.
a person regarded as having an innate gift or talent for a particular task or activity.
"she was a natural for the sort of television work required of her"
2.
MUSIC
a sign (♮) denoting a natural note when a previous sign or the key signature would otherwise demand a sharp or a flat.
adverbinformaldialect
1.
naturally.
"keep walking—just act natural"

[Milchshake]

Pepsico and Monsanto are gonna make it rain on K street. Someone needs to call all of the Gen-OT rationalists quick. Some greenies are about to bully poor little Monsanto. for pissing glyphophate in their morning oatmeal.

[The Casualty]

... no their "beef" is that natural does not mean created in a lab by Monsanto.

I think you are mistaken. They are concerned with the use of a probable carcinogen on the food prior to harvest. Whether the actual oat has been genetically modified is not up for debate, at least according to the article that was linked.

[IIamaKing]

... no their "beef" is that natural does not mean created in a lab by Monsanto. Words have meaning, as much as you seem to want to dismiss the English language.

nat·u·ral
ˈnaCH(ə)rəl/
adjective
1.
existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind.
"carrots contain a natural antiseptic that fights bacteria"
2.
of or in agreement with the character or makeup of, or circumstances surrounding, someone or something.
"sharks have no natural enemies"
noun
1.
a person regarded as having an innate gift or talent for a particular task or activity.
"she was a natural for the sort of television work required of her"
2.
MUSIC
a sign (♮) denoting a natural note when a previous sign or the key signature would otherwise demand a sharp or a flat.
adverbinformaldialect
1.
naturally.
"keep walking—just act natural"

Yeh, but the pesticide is not an ingredient. Its a product used in the cultivation of the grain. Its not mixed into the oats then packaged.

Like I said, they are confusing "all natural" with "organic". "All natural" has never been implied as pesticide free.

[Kujako]

Yeh, but the pesticide is not an ingredient. Its a product used in the cultivation of the grain. Its not mixed into the oats then packaged.

Like I said, they are confusing "all natural" with "organic". "All natural" has never been implied as pesticide free.

It was found in the finished product, thus the complaint...

[IIamaKing]

It was found in the finished product, thus the complaint...

I would bet there are traces of lots of pesticides in many products, doesnt mean its an ingredient. Its a remnant from production. I am not going to dig, the linked article doesn't go into detail, but the people CLAIM it contains the pesticide, and even if thats true, I would bet its in ppms so low as to be non existent.

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Really their beef is with the FDA, they are the ones who allow such looseness under the term "All Natural".

[Milchshake]

I would bet there are traces of lots of pesticides in many products, doesnt mean its an ingredient. Its a remnant from production. I am not going to dig, the linked article doesn't go into detail, but the people CLAIM it contains the pesticide, and even if thats true, I would bet its in ppms so low as to be non existent.

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Really their beef is with the FDA, they are the ones who allow such looseness under the term "All Natural".

The same FDA staffed by former executives from DOW, DuPont, and Monsanto? Yeah, thats a teeming hotbed of consumer protection.

[The Casualty]

The same FDA staffed by former executives from DOW, DuPont, and Monsanto? Yeah, thats a teeming hotbed of consumer protection.

As unfortunate as that is, if they rubber-stamp a product with "100% all natural" because their requirements allow for a product to use things like pesticide, that's not the fault of the company, it's the fault of the system that is allowing it.

So if they want that terminology changed because they felt they were lied to, the company/commission/administration etc... to file a suit against would be the one who actually makes the rules.

[Templar 331]

consumers seek out and wish to purchase whole, natural foods that do not contain chemicals

Then grow your own damn food and STFU. Instead of suing Quaker for using a herbicide that might be a carcinogen, wait until there's proof that it is one.

And there's no such thing as food without chemicals. All food is grown with the assistance of one chemical or another. Use fertilizer? That's a chemical. If you want "all natural food", go to a jungle that hasn't been touched by man because there's no such thing as "all natural" food in the civilized world.

[Jester Joe]

It was found in the finished product, thus the complaint...

I don't see anything officially saying it is there, just consumers claiming it is. Unless there's actually proof in another article or something?

It sounds like a whole lotta hoopla honestly, about something that might be there, and it may or may not be a carcinogen, and there's really nothing illegal about it but people think it's not 100% natural then.

[xuros]

Man I love Quaker oats. On the weekend when my wife asks me what do I want her to cook for that night I tell her, just make me small pot of oatmeal and I share it with my 1 year old lol. Then her and my daughter goes out for Sushi. Crazy women I know!

[Deleted]

If they're putting weird chemicals in the oats then they can make sure they're labelled properly.
Maybe you can even have oats loaded with an extra dose so those freaks that want to guzzle glyphosate can get their fill.