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ConAgra Lawsuit: Woman Sues Over ‘Calorie Free Butter’

Posted: August 17, 2012

conagra

A woman in Nebraska is filing a lawsuit against ConAgra, claiming that the company falsely advertised its Parkay Spray butter as “calorie free.”

The Associated Press reports that Pamela Trewhitt filed her lawsuit on Monday in Omaha’s federal court. Trewhitt is seeking class-action status, saying that ConAgra lied to thousands of its costumers by advertising the product as calorie free.

The lawsuit reads:

“Defendant knew or should have known that its product was mislabeled and engendered confusion among consumers.”

According to Trewhitt, the spray is marketed as fat-free and calorie-free but actually contains 832 calories and 93 grams of fat per bottle. Trewhitt uses internet comments in her lawsuit saying that several people used the spray as a substitute for butter in order to lose weight, but ended up putting on pounds instead.

The lawsuit reads:

“For example, a contributor to (a) website … writes, ‘I could not figure out why I simply could not lose hardly even a pound, even though I was working out hard … and monitoring calories … for a couple of years…. I was also literally taking the top of the ‘fat and calorie free butter’ spray and pouring it on all my carefully steamed veggies when I found out that a bottle of that stuff is 90 fat grams. I was going through two bottles a week, and working out and getting fat and unhealthy.”

The ConAgra Lawsuit accuses the company of using small serving sizes in order to deceive its customers.

spray butter

The company told Manufacturing.Net that it plans to fight the lawsuit.

ConAgra spokeswoman Becky Niiya, said:

“The company stands behind the accuracy of its labeling and has a long-established commitment to marketing our food responsibly… We intend to vigorously defend this litigation.”



Comments


7 Archived Responses to “ ConAgra Lawsuit: Woman Sues Over ‘Calorie Free Butter’ ”

  1. Rose R Blue
    Aug 17, 2012

    No one should be consuming the product, if you read the rest of label/ingredients, and understand the implications of the chemistry within the product, there should be more than one reason to sue the company.

  2. Sophia Smith
    Aug 18, 2012

    If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes, only then would you realize how special you are to me. Would you want to fall in love? COME to —A g e matching. C~oM——.

  3. Sharon Sierawski Switzer
    Aug 18, 2012

    how about limiting what you eat? One item doen not do this alone!

  4. Christi Curfman
    Aug 18, 2012

    Here's my problem with this…this woman was pouring this on her food, when it is clearly a spray. Even if it has 850 calories per bottle, and she was using two bottles a week, that would have been about ruffly 230 calories a day, so how many calories was she eating over all? 230 calories a day is the equivalient of a 2 tablespoons of butter, which by the way is a natural fat and would in the end be better for you than margarine anyway. You can't tell me she honeslty thought that margerine SPRAY would make her thin by dumping it on her food. To top it off 230 calories a day isn't what is making her fat (if she is) it is whatever else she is eating. I hope she looses, this is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Next people will be suing the spoon company for making the spoons that contribute to them eating the ice cream.

  5. Anonymous
    Aug 18, 2012

    Your missing the point, Con Agra foods is misleading people much like many other companies into advertising things that are not true. I can remember buying Aussie Nads which stated and ran commercials with old woman ripping the hair off their face and said it was gentle and painless. When I tries it I had blood trickled running down my arm where there was once hair:) If you let companies lie about their products you'll never be able to know what your buying.

  6. Maddie Mayfield
    Aug 18, 2012

    I agree with you xisting4me. I am on weight watchers and am losing weight, and do use this spray, but it is FALSE ADVERTISING. I do use a lot of it, I don't pour it on, but when it says 0 calories that is what it should be. Its not that she isnt losing weight that she is upset about its the company LYING. I will go without before I buy any more Parkay spray.

  7. Dominique Lauder
    Aug 20, 2012

    It's not false advertising. Companies are allowed to say x product is 0 calories in one serving size, when in reality, it is .99999999999 of a calorie. The calories simply added up. So, no. ConAgra was not "false advertising". If the woman ate followed the 5 spray serving size, this wouldn't be a problem. Was the way ConAgra labeled it a tad deceitful? No. If it is less than 1 calorie, it's okay. This lady just wants money. Some people are ridiculous.