A non-profit organization has announced its intention to sue Sara Lee for alleged “misleading” claims about the whole grain nature of some of its products.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) sent a letter to Sara Lee announcing their intention to file a lawsuit over marketing claims such as “made with whole grain,” “good source of whole grain” and “now with 25 percent more whole grain.” According to CSPI, these statements are “intended to deceive the consumer into thinking the bread is a whole-grain bread, when in fact it is not.”
Sara Lee claims that it sells not only white and 100 percent whole grain breads, but also some intermediate products that it calls “nutritionally transitional.” These products are made with a mix of refined and whole wheat flour and are designed to help consumers eat more whole grains without being subjected to a radical change from the taste and texture of the refined grains they are used to.
In marketing claims, Sara Lee says that the Soft & Smooth products combine “the taste and texture of white bread with the goodness of whole grain.”
CSPI is seeking an injunction that would bar Sara Lee from saying that its products contain “the goodness or whole grain” or even that they are “made with whole grain” unless they explicitly state on the label what percentage of the product is whole grain.
