COMMENTARY | In 2003 McDonald’s had its plates full with a pending lawsuit that stated the company made kids obese. Those who heard about the people suing McDonald’s for apparently making their children obese could do nothing but either laugh or rant about how it was the parents’ fault. Lawsuits against companies for outlandish reasons happen every year, but are usually dismissed by the court. The McDonald’s case was dismissed, as was the Taco Bell Lawsuit in 2011. Today, when I went to my home page, there was news about Nutella being sued for false advertising.
Nutella commercials have sprung up lately, advertising how it is part of a healthy breakfast. Like most companies, Nutella advertised their product and should be viewed as an advertisement, not a nutritional breakdown of the product. In my lifetime, I have not seen many companies listing in detail what is in their product or the nutritional benefits and values. They are advertising their product to viewers, who should be intelligent enough to read what they are putting into not only their bodies, but their children’s’ bodies. As a parent, shouldn’t you be reading labels and nutritional facts, not just trusting the word of an advertisement?
Apparently, Athena Hohenberg believed the Nutella commercial instead of double checking and reading the Nutella label. Athena Hohenberg, mother of a 4-year-old, fed her daughter Nutella on a regular basis. After months of “apparently” not checking the nutritional information, she finally learned that Nutella was not as healthy as advertised. She stated that she “was shocked to learn” that Nutella “was the next best thing to a candy bar.”
To my surprise, this San Diego native actually won the lawsuit. Nutella settled the suit with the amount of $3.05 million. Of that, $2.5 million will be split between consumers who purchased the product between January 1, 2008 and February 3, 2012.
I was shocked to find out that she had filed suit over this last February and actually won. For me, this just comes to show what people in this world will do and can get away with. We should all be intelligent enough to look into nutritional information on what we are eating. If it ends up not being as healthy as the advertisements say, then hey, either enjoy it knowing the truth, or buy something different.
Part of Nutella’s Nutritional Information: Nestle 100 Grand Candy Bar:
Serving Size: 2tbs Serving Size: 2 bars (2 bars in the package)
Calories: 200 Calories: 190
Calories from Fat: 100 Calories from Fat: 72
Total Fat: 11 g Total Fat: 8 g
Sat. Fat: 3.5 g Sat. Fat: 5 g
Sugars: 21 g Sugars: 22g
Works Cited:
http://global.christianpost.com/news/nutella-2-5-million-lawsuit-surprise-it-isnt-healthy-for-you-74018/
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/04/nutella-after-suit-drops-health-claims/
http://www.nutellausa.com/nutrition-facts.htm
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-100-grand-bar-candies-i19144
