The Animal Legal Defense Fund is suing Hormel Foods over Hormel’s labels describing some pork products as “natural,” claiming the labels are deceiving to customers.
The ALDF filed the lawsuit last week in Washington, DC. Meatingplace reports the complaint takes aim at the processor’s Natural Choice brand of lunch meats and bacon, pitting its slogan “Make the Natural Choice” and claims like “100 percent Natural” and “All-Natural” against consumers’ understanding of what “natural” means. The lawsuit cites Consumer Reports research that found most consumers believe “natural” to mean animals were raised using “sustainable” farming techniques on “independent” family farms, and the products are free of artificial ingredients. USDA’s definition of “natural” is: “A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service