Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.-headquartered food supplier Conagra will soon ask a U.S. judge to dismiss a class-action complaint alleging it artificially adds weight to its Van de Kamp and Mrs. Paul’s frozen fish products via overglazing.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago on 11 June, alleges Conagra “pumps up” its fish with the industrial filler sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) and extra water to artificially add weight, "which may then ooze out as a white goo when the fish is cooked."
Total claims, if awarded, will likely exceed USD 5 million (EUR 4.6 million).
Conagra said in a new joint status report that it anticipates filing a motion to dismiss the complaint brought by two consumers who have purchased Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s products in the U.S. states of New York and Massachusetts.
The motion, which will be filed by 23 August, will seek to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims for lack of standing and for failure to state a claim, the report said. The plaintiffs will oppose Conagra’s motion to dismiss.
Both the plaintiffs and Conagra have not engaged in settlement discussions and do not want to schedule a settlement conference, according to the document.
Meanwhile, no further action has been taken in the other major class-action lawsuit against Conagra, which claims its display of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label on its seafood packaging is deceptive.
In March 2024, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall ruled the plaintiffs, Abdallah Nasser and John Bohen, can continue to pursue claims against Conagra but cannot be granted injunctive relief, which would have required the company to take immediate action to change the labeling on the packaging of its Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s products.
Nasser and Bohen sued Conagra in March 2023 in the U.S. District Court of Illinois, contending Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s pollock products include MSC’s eco-label, as well as the phrases “Certified Sustainable Seafood MSC” and “Certified Sustainably Sourced,” but that the products were sourced from Russian fisheries that employ unsustainable practices. The plaintiffs are asking for USD 5 million (EUR 4.7 million) in damages.
Neither Conagra nor the plaintiffs have filed additional documents in the case since April.
Earlier in July, Conagra reported its Q4 2024 net sales declined 2.3 percent and net sales for its 2024 fiscal year dropped 1.8 percent to USD 12.1 billion (EUR 11.1 billion).
