'Froot' Is Not Fruit, San Francisco Lawsuit Alleges
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| Photo by yo te prefiero fuera de foco/Flickr |
UPDATE: 'Froot Loops' lawyer says his client is no serial litigant.
According to Toucan Sam, avian mascot of Kellogg's Froot Loops cereal, "Follow my nose! It always knows! The flavor of froot! Wherever it grows!"
According to disgruntled consumer Roy Werbel, however, Sam's olfactory quest misleads consumers into mistaking junk food for naturally grown produce. Werbel recently filed a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court alleging that he bought and ate boxes of Froot Loops based on his mistaken belief the cereal contained fruit.
Kellogg's intentionally deceived consumers into buying Froot Loops by misleadingly using the word "froot" in the title, Werbel alleges. He demands unspecified punitive and actual damages, to be paid to all consumers who have mistakenly bought Froot Loops cereal. Had Werbel known that "Froot Loops contained no fruit, he would not have purchased it," his suit alleges.
Werbel's quest for a cereal containing natural, nutritious fruit did not stop at Froot Loops. He also bought and ate Cap'n Crunch Crunch Berries cereal with this goal in mind.
"He was misled by the packaging and marketing, which by design and intent convey the message that the product contains real fruit," Werbel stated in a separate lawsuit filed against Pepsico, maker of Cap'n Crunch cereal.
In light of Werbel's complaints against Pepsico and Kellogg's, SF Weekly finds it necessary to re-issue our occasional corporate caveat noting that, while our offices are located at 185 Berry Street, our publication should in no way be considered a nutritious source of fruit.
70 comment(s) / Post a Comment
Seriously? Wow.
That is why the box has a listing of ingredients on the bottom, Mr. Lawsuit-Happy.
This kind of jettison of all logic just astounds me. I guess people will do anything for money, right?
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 2:20PMThis is why we dont allow people to sue for everything, if he is seeking punitive damages to those who were deceived by froot loops then he is only seeking to satisfy himself financial.....this man is a moron.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 2:41PMcan he not spell? Froot is not Fruit, That is like someone suing van's shoes for not being mini vans. IF he can get away with this there are tons of stuff actualy spelled fruit that would be a better target.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 2:48PMKellogg's, buddy. Better double up on that g. And add an apostrophe.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 2:51PMAnd when I come for you, I'm gonna want some cocktail..FROOT! http://www.filthyrichmond.com/2009/09/i-want-gold-sucka.html
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 2:55PMHe really thought it was fruit?
I would like to see a suit filed against this person. It seems pretty clear that this has nothing to do with not having fruit, but rather a thinly veiled attempt at either money grubbing or social reform via court settlement.
When will consequences be leveled against frivolous/malicious suit making?
(BTW it is Froot Loops, not Fruit Loops)
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 3:00PMWow, yet another person with nothing better to do than waste the time and money of our court system. Everyone knows that it is a kids cereal and that it is not nutritious. Seriously, get a life.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 3:12PMThis kind of thing is just stupid. These cases just waste taxpayers money, and my valuable internet browsing time
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 3:23PMSeriously??? I thought it was common knowledge that 'froot' means 'not fruit', 'cheez' means 'not cheese', and 'chocolatey' means 'chocolate flavored'. It's not like Kelloggs withheld the information...he could have, you know, read the ingredients.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 3:37PMHe's the only one in the lawsuit because he's the only one who thinks "there's fruit in frootloops". Had he read the box, it would clearly state that there is no actual fruit in the cereal.
Jackass.
The fact that a lawsuit like this could be taken seriously is a sign that we have only gone backwards from the "I pilled hot coffee on myself and sued mcdonalds" times. Personally, I hate the advertising world, which is always misleading. I avoid being advertised to, mute commercials, and always double check claims, never believing commercials.
But some things fall under "common sense". Does the box say "Contains real fruit"? Is "fruit" even spelled right? IS THERE A CARTOON CHARACTER ON THE BOX, AND DOES THE ADVERTISEMENT AIM AT ADULTS OR CHILDREN? The answers in these questions would lead anyone who thinks, even dumb people, to realize this is not health food, but breakfast candy for kids. ITS OBVIOUS. If it DID contain real fruit, it would be advertised all over the box to try and trick parents into buying it instead of the other breakfast candies for kids.
Like I said, this is not a question of intelligence, its simply that this guy has decided to never think about anything but to just run with the first assumption. Always. Not even my 7 year old does that. Tonight, I'm gonna ask him if he thinks froot loops have real fruit in them, and I think he'll say "No, it doesn't taste like any fruit I eat".
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 4:03PMReally?? I mean really... Why can't people work for their own money anymore. What a dumb piece of crap.. Maybe he should sue his kindergarden teacher for not teaching him how to READ.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 4:09PMWow, truly amazing dude!
RT
www.total-privacy.net.tc
So, does this mean I can go after Apple Jacks as well?
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 4:25PMfroot isn't even a word. If he had read the label of incredients he would have found the following UGAR; WHOLE GRAIN CORN FLOUR; WHEAT FLOUR; WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR; OAT FIBER; SOLUBLE CORN FIBER; PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (ONE OR MORE OF: COCONUT, SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OILS)†; SALT; SODIUM ASCORBATE AND ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C); NIACINAMIDE; REDUCED IRON; NATURAL ORANGE, LEMON, CHERRY, RASPBERRY, BLUEBERRY, LIME AND OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS; RED #40; BLUE #2; TURMERIC COLOR; YELLOW #6; ZINC OXIDE; ANNATTO COLOR; BLUE #1; PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6); RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2); THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1); VITAMIN A PALMITATE; BHT (PRESERVATIVE); FOLIC ACID; VITAMIN D; VITAMIN B12.
† LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING.
Not one fruit ingredient
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 4:28PMWhat a fucking money grabbing douchebag. Talk about frivolous lawsuits. Hope the judge throws away his case ASAP and fines his dumb ass for wasting everybody's time.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 4:33PMSUGAR; WHOLE GRAIN CORN FLOUR; WHEAT FLOUR; WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR; OAT FIBER; SOLUBLE CORN FIBER; PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (ONE OR MORE OF: COCONUT, SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OILS)†; SALT; SODIUM ASCORBATE AND ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C); NIACINAMIDE; REDUCED IRON; NATURAL ORANGE, LEMON, CHERRY, RASPBERRY, BLUEBERRY, LIME AND OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS; RED #40; BLUE #2; TURMERIC COLOR; YELLOW #6; ZINC OXIDE; ANNATTO COLOR; BLUE #1; PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6); RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2); THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1); VITAMIN A PALMITATE; BHT (PRESERVATIVE); FOLIC ACID; VITAMIN D; VITAMIN B12.
† LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING.
The commercial mentions fruit flavours and not actual fruit and it does contain the afforsaid fruit flavours!
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 4:33PMAre you freaking kidding me. Apparently he is a little confused by the english language as well. Froot is not Fruit.
On a side note. How did he miss the Fruity Pebbles?
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 5:17PMThis is ridiculous and frivolous lawsuit at its best. There is no reason to assume that there is any fruit in "Froot Loops". Nor is it likely that this person was harmed in any way due to his misconception that there is fruit in "Froot Loops". This person just wants to make money by leeching of the success of other people.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 5:28PMWhat a fucking idiot. Give the man a large bay window in his belly button so he can see where he is going.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 5:43PMSo... froot and crunch berries. I guess I just wouldn't be so convinced without reading the ingredients which are on the boxes of cereal as well. Frivolous lawsuit if I ever saw one. An American sickness continues, besides of course an uncommon level of idiocy.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 5:47PMI hope they shove real fruit up this guys ass! I want to beat down this MF'er
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 6:12PMAre you serious, this jackass doesn't know how to read the label on a box of cereal?? All he would have to do is read the label to see that it does not contain REAL FRUIT. This guy has no common scene and i hope they laugh him out of court.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 6:16PMthere's a reason the ingredients are listed on the box...or perhaps he was just too lazy to read any further than "froot" and "berries"
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 6:42PMIn a way, this is just another one of those either "omg, how stupid can you be!?" or "he's just trying to get money out of them" lawsuits. But, I'm rather fed up with the advertising crap that "food" producers get away with. So, while it is kind of ridiculous, I'm actually behind this lawsuit.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 6:48PMOne thing I'm sure of is that there are actually apples in Apple Jacks because there's a picture of an apple right in the logo.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 12:03AMA real waste of time is whining about this lawsuit or, even worst, whining about whiners anout this lawsuit.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 6:10AMI am willing to bet that this guy is a Republican!
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 6:14AMEasy defense in this case - all they have to do is ask him exactly what a crunchberry is, and where one might find it growing. If the man doesn't know what fruit is, then how could he reasonably expect to find cereal with fruit in it?
Never mind the fact that froot loops are what, half sugar? Literally half of the product by weight is just sugar! And it can't be misleading when the ingredients list says "sugar, no real fruit".
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 6:25AMThey market this stuff to kids. Kids are not going to read the ingredient list. The company is misleading. You people are insensitive to it, but a five year old is not. There is supposed to be laws against false advertising, with a higher standard to kids. Companies bought this country. I hope this guy wins and it hurts Froot Loops.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 6:36AMI hope the cereal company sues his ass once they're done winning this case.
Does anyone else think we have too many lawyers in our country?
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 7:10AMAnd I'm actually behind Shanna, only because I am giving this guy the benefit of the doubt and hoping that his lawsuit has more to do with punishing "food" corporations for using brightly colored cartoon characters to promote their nutritionless junk to kids, whose parents are too checked out to stop using their TVs as baby-sitters, who then raise obese children, who then grow into obese teen-agers and adults who then tax our broken healthcare system later in life. I'll cite reality to back my claims. Talk about wasting everyone's time and money! I'm behind everyone on that!
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 7:34AMBen says:
"I hope the cereal company sues his ass once they're done winning this case.
Does anyone else think we have too many lawyers in our country?"
how exactly would kellogg's sue "his ass" without their own lawyers?
i personally feel it's a great lawsuit. the product was probably made in a time before strong labeling requirements and was made to confuse poor mothers into thinking there was fruit in the product. i'll bet $100 if they were to subpeona the original "food engineers" involved in making this crap, that is exactly what they would say.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 8:02AMAte a Fruit Loop once but providentially he ate me back. It's called consensual sex. Obviously NOT what the complainant had in mind.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 8:48AMwow, this man must really be hard up for some cash. Was this the first idea that came to his mind? What an idiot. I love that reading the nutrition label never crossed his mind.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 8:58AMI haven't read all the comments. Those I have read are generally scornful and indignant toward Mr Werbel. However, I wonder if it might be that Mr Werbel is bringing suit because he wants corporations to stop false and manipulative advertising?
I'm not defending the lawsuit, but I am willing to condemn misleading commercials aimed at children, who of course, DO NOT read lists of ingredients.
This may be Mr. Werbel's intent, and we ought to thoughtfully consider this possibility.
Here's what we need to remember--while corporations may not be our enemies, they are also not our friends. They are only friends with profit; and they care for us only when the law makes them.
And that should be important to you.
Think.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 9:02AMYou have to wonder if these lawyers bother to do any research at all?
The U.S. District Corut for the Central District of California previously rejected similar claims regarding the packaging of Fruit Loops. See McKinnis v. Kellogg USA, 2007 WL 4766060 (C.D. Cal. 2007).
Similarly, on May 20, 2009, the U.S. District Corut for the Eastern District of California ruled in favor of Pepsico and dismissed claims by Janine Sugawara that she was misled by the use of "berries" in the name of "Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries" cereal. Case No. 2:08-cv-01335. The court noted it "there is no such fruit [as a 'crunchberry'] growing in the wild or occuring naturally in any part of the world" and held that "a reasonable consumer would have understood the Product packaging to expressly warrant only that the Product contained sweetened corn and oat cereal, which it did."
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 9:09AMerm...and Cap'n Crunch does not contain actual Captains. PopTarts aren't tart, Lime koolaid doesn't have real lime in it, etc.
JFC people are effing stupid sometimes.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 10:02AMI hope he wins $100 million for each charge (one buck for each person duped by business' purposeful deceipt), or the Froot Loops Macaw teaches kids about how to protect yourself from misleading advertizing... that would be sweet.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 10:07AM"Everyone knows that it is a kids cereal and that it is not nutritious. Seriously, get a life. "
but that is the nature of the suit. That companies do knowingly and intentionally deceive the public in order to increase sales (your assertion that 'everyone knows' is simply false). Truth in Advertising comes to mind, and we have a LOT of products on the market out there that, at first glance, aren't what they 'look like'.
Granted, the ingredients say nothing of fruit. Granted, it's spelled Froot, not Fruit. Granted, it doesn't take much to "find out" that it's not healthy..
But the question remains, why do we, as a society, allow these "tricks" to be used to make more sales? Most people aren't paying very close attention, and a LOT of advertising is designed specifically misrepresent the product so people more readily buy it. We should demand transparent honesty in everything in our society; all this deceit as common is jading our society. And we should not allow companies to advertise certain things to our children.. bad food is one of those thing. Children don't have the capacity to make good decisions, and parents are being hammered by companies through advertising. Why does them making a buck seem reasonable when it increases the already difficult task of raising our kids? Why the constant assaults?
While the specifics of this case seem absurd on their face, ask yourself some philosophical questions.. And ask yourself this one, too.. Why is it that we have relatively poor health care in America, we pay more for our drugs than anyplace else in the world, our overall cost of health care is heavily inflated, and America is the ONLY country in the world that lets drug manufacturers advertise prescription drugs that are covered by insurance on TV, directly to "consumers" who are ill equipped to understand the ramifications of those drugs? The "average Joe" should not be making decisions about what drugs they should take, the "average Joe" is neither smart enough, nor educated enough, nor pays close enough attention to the (sometimes seriously flawed) studies out there. The "average Joe" is being preyed upon. So, the bigger question is, why should people spend significant amounts of their time investigating everything they come in contact with just because someone else is trying to make a buck?
Deceit is the order of the day, in America.. and it seems this guy is trying to make a point, nothing more. This lawsuit is a symptom of a sick society on many fronts.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 10:19AMYou people saying that Kellogg's should be sued for marketing their kids' cereal to kids are beyond delusional. I'm as irritated as any rational person by the false marketing campaigns of corporations, but lumping Toucan Sam and his "Froot Loops" into that is a joke. I think we could find greater offenders in the "organic" and "sustainable" markets that you are likely gobbling up without a second thought.
If parents are feeding sugar cereal to their kids for regular nutrition then that is either laziness or just plain stupidity -- and it's absurd to even consider holding Kellogg's responsible for that.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 10:21AMDriftless....who cares? does your 5 year old do the grocery shopping and make the important decisions in your household? Not mine.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 10:42AMPeople like this should be sterilized as to not further pollute our gene pool. I can't believe that you could even make this claim with a straight face and have escaped Darwin long enough to become an adult. Judges should assign jail sentences when they dismiss these kinds of cases. If you get down to the definition, this is a cut and dry case of fraud. This man is trying to defraud a company of money by trying a dim-witted loophole that will just make the packaging even more idiot-proof than it already is. Throw out the case, place him in jail for a few months and call it a day. He'll learn his lesson.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 10:54AM
says:
Yikes! Our spell check let us down. Perhaps it was overwhelmed by repeated usage of the "word" "froot."
Thanks for keeping an eye peeled.
Yours,
JE
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 10:59AMso apparently the liberal "anti misleading advertisement" people failed their college "intro to business law class."
If I remember correctly, if it's not misleading to a reasonable consumer, then it's not misleading. This guy is just after money. Plain and simple.
To the kid who said "I bet this guy is a Republican." I'd take that bet and assume he is one of my own kind... Just the fringe crazy part of my side.
To the guy who stated we have gone back to a time where "I spilled coffee on myself so now I want to sue." is ok.... The entire basis behind that case was that McDonalds was selling coffee hotter than it was supposed to in relation to the specific temperature for McDonalds coffee, and the temperature of the coffee in the surrounding area. Had the coffee been the same temperature, not hotter, than the surrounding coffee, the lady would have lost the case.
However, this guy is an idiot. He is just trying to get money. I guarantee you he doesn't want to "stick it to the advertisement company to protect the children and working moms." However, some PR rep for some crazy liberal website will probably spin this that way. I dont doubt he will spin it that way after he realizes he's an idiot who isn't going to get money. Sadly, those are the people who make me hate being liberal...
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 11:59AMWell crap....I just ate 3 pairs of my Fruit of the Looms underwear thinking there was fruit in them....guess I'm going to have to sue.....
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 12:46PMPlease have Roy Werbel give me a call. I have a bridge he might be interested in buying. No wonder there's no room in the courts for legitimate lawsuits
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 1:01PMYou know, there are two themes in this commentary. One is that this guy is a stupid, but opportunistic leech. The other is that corporations are smart, opportunistic leeches.
Those of you who focus on the former are failing to acknowledge that corporations are out to earn every dollar they can, in any way they can get away with because that is their mission to their shareholders--and yet, sometimes that stinks and it hurts consumers.
Those of you who excuse the latter are unbelievable. You chide the government for being less-than-efficient, less-than-truthful, but I read your comments and it appears you excuse corporations from the same standard. Why is that?
If your answer is that faith in the free marketplace will determine everything then corporate accountablility will be never come because it hasn't so far. (And if you truly are free-marketers, then you should believe Mr. Werbel has every godspeeding right to pursue his lawsuit.)
We should want to hold all three--individuals, government and corporations accountable. And rather than excuse these corporations, we should heap equal scorn on them for the abuse of the legal protections they receive.
Don't be apologists and don't be sheep. Think on your own two feet.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 1:32PMReplace froot with health insurance and fruit with a licensed physician and sue for false advertising by the former and you would have a case. IE Health insurance [private corporations are not licensed physicians]yet claim to be 'health care'
We all know its not real fruit so why even advertise that is somehow healthy as real fruit? You want a wall street investor doing surgery on you or do you want a froot telling you why his sugar loaded popped whatever is good for you?
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 2:36PMIm extremely against frivolous lawsuits, however, I also believe false advertising should not be allowed.
There are people who unfortunately dont have much discerning ability and can be easily misled. This is not important for a cereal, but I see on TV time and time again advertisings where they promise speedy weight loss, and etc. which could end up being dangerous.
I guess this just another way, in a down economy, to get some money. There has to be some high fructose corn syrup in those Froot rings. fructose is the type of sugar that comes from fruit. Maybe that makes it okay.
Thanks for the article. Added a little humor to my day. Found this from @cynthiaisgr8 on twitter.
Peace
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 8:03AMWait what!???? There's NO FRUIT INSIDE!?!?!?
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 6:47PMAnyone bringing such a frivolous lawsuit which is plainly an attempt to extort money from large corporations, along with their legal representatives, should be charged with contempt of the legal system. Im no fan of corporations, but these people are just opportunistic scum bags.
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 2 2009 @ 1:19AMThis guy is a genius. Good for him for taking a stand in what he so strongly believes in. It is about time that these corporate assholes controlling the cereal market are called out on their deceptive marketing practices. I too have been eating these cereals for decades thinking I was eating fruit. That such a scam has been perpetrated on me is so damaging to my psyche.
This man is a hero.
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 2 2009 @ 2:11PMThis guy is a retartd, but the sad thing is he will most likely get millions. That is the problem with this country...the lawyers want their cut, so they pursue it and take it to court...the courts actually take these stupid people serious and spend time deciding these stupid cases. What they should be doing is laughing these people right out of courts and on their assess.....starting way back with the lady who spilled coffee in her lap becasue she was to stupid to put it in the cup holder of the car.
This guy is just looking for easy money at everyone elses expense, time, and efforts...GET A JOB A^# H*^# like the rest of us and earn a buck.
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 3 2009 @ 8:56AMWhat a money leeching idiot! I guess we could all have lawsuits then since many cities, towns and municipalities have Walnut Streets, I guess I should sue because they are not really made of walnut!
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 3 2009 @ 9:01AMYou mean "Golden Grahams" don't have gold in them? "Goldfish" crackers contain no fish??
The nerve.
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 9 2009 @ 7:22AMI'm so sick of people trying to screw everyone. Even small children, who that kind of cereal is intended for, know that there's no fruit in them. And if grownups are that stupid, to think there's fruit in junk cereal, then so be it. They shouldn't be allowed to sue for their own stupidity. AND if a judgment is made in their favor, then shame on our judicial system!
Posted On: Sunday, Oct. 11 2009 @ 1:04PMI bet I could sell Roy Werbel the Golden Gate Bridge. Then again, never mind -- he'd probably sue me because he thought it was made of gold.
Posted On: Wednesday, Nov. 4 2009 @ 12:11AMIf he takes a stroll through the produce department, he might realize the best source for real fruit is.... real fruit.
Posted On: Tuesday, Nov. 10 2009 @ 6:49AMyou know what the source of the best fruit is? When you lick my butt hole.
Posted On: Saturday, Dec. 5 2009 @ 4:26AM
foam order.com
