A new class action lawsuit over alleged mislabeling seeks to grill Johnsonville, one of the country's leading producers of sausages, over whether its beef sausage casings on its beer brats really mean the company can claim the sausages are "all pork."
Erin Edwards, on behalf of herself and others, filed a consumer class action lawsuit Jan. 3 in Cook County Circuit Court against Johnsonville LLC, which is based in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Edwards is claiming alleged misbranding violation of the Federal Food and Cosmetic Act (F-FDCA), as well as alleged violations under various state consumer fraud laws.
Plaintiffs are accusing Johnsonville of selling beer brats as containing "100% premium pork," even though the casings come from cows. Edwards asserts that Johnsonville also intentionally makes false claims, omissions, and statements meant to mislead consumers.
Thomas A. Zimmerman, Jr.
| attorneyzim.com
The F-FDCA states that "a food shall be considered 'misbranded' if its labeling is false or misleading in any (way)." Since it's widely assumed in many communities that sausage casings will be the same animal as the meat they contain, federal regulations were put forth by the USDA to protect consumers, the complaint said.
The USDA, concerned that such assumptions could be a problem for certain populations, now requires sausage manufacturers to clearly "identify the type of meat or poultry from which the casings are derived, (and) if the casings are from a different type of meat or poultry than the encased meat or poultry."
According to court documents, Edwards felt that a reasonable person would understand that if the label states the product is 100% pork, it means the brats are filled only with pork.
Edwards claims, if she and others had known the truth, that the brats were encased in beef collagen casings, not pork, they would not have purchased the product.
Plaintiffs are demanding a trial by jury, settlement in the form of any monetary gains from the fraudulent sale of the product be paid to all members, as well as legal fees and court costs.
Plaintiff is represented by Thomas A. Zimmerman, Jr.,Sharon A. Harris, Matthew C. De Re, and Jeffrey D. Blake, of the Zimmerman Law Offices, of Chicago.