Press Clips: Blue Diamond To Pay $9 Million in Settlement

Blue Diamond To Pay $9 Million in Settlement

Digital illustation created using 3D software and retouched in photoshop by Gene Dupont

Blue Diamond will pay $9 million following a class action lawsuit that took aim at the dairy alternative’s claims that its Almond Breeze drink was “all natural.” The settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing.

Customers who purchased Blue Diamond Almond Breeze or Blue Diamond Nut-Thins products between May 28, 2009 and Nov. 18, 2016 are eligible to receive refunds of up to $20. Applications for a refund can be submitted until April 13 at www.breezeandthinssettlement.com.

Report: Harmless Harvest To Pay $1 Million in Settlement

HarmlessHarvest_970

Legal Newsline reported last week that Harmless Harvest has agreed to pay a nearly $1 million settlement following a class action lawsuit alleging the coconut water brand had misled consumers by advertising the product as “100 percent Organic” and “Raw.”

The lawsuit, brought forth by Lee Litigation Group, was settled less than a week after it was filed last month. Speaking with BevNET, Harmless Harvest vigorously denied any wrongdoing. The terms of the settlement were confidential.

According to Legal Newsline, the proposed settlement involves labeling changes and third-party monitoring of Harmless Harvest’s labeling. Harmless Harvest will pay a third-party consultant for two years from the settlement date. Also under the settlement, the company will cover $575,000 in attorney’s fees, which includes an incentive award of $20,000 to the plaintiffs. Another $350,000 will cover claims administration fees and notice costs.

Justin Timberlake To Star In Bai Super Bowl Ad

baijt970

Bai’s very own Chief Flavor Officer Justin Timberlake will star in a national 30-second Super Bowl commercial, according to Adweek. According to Bai founder and CEO Ben Weiss, Timberlake “played an integral role” in developing the TV spot alongside Bai’s in-house creative team.

Media placement for the spot was done by Maxus, who also handled Bai’s “Horse Whisperer” ad, which aired regionally during the 2016 Super Bowl.

“When we saw the impact that last year’s commercial had on our brand awareness and engagement, we knew we had to do something again, but on a national stage,” Weiss said.

FDA Cracks Down on Camel Milk ‘Miracle Cure’ Claims

01_b62789d4-6d5a-4417-b822-3cd79f0f91a9_large

In a public letter, the FDA warned Desert Farms that the company must stop marketing its raw camel milk as a medicinal product, Vice reported last week. The company had been claiming raw camel milk is capable of treating a variety of ailments, including allergies, autism, and Crohn’s disease.

The warning letter, available online at www.fda.gov, cited unsubstantiated claims on the company’s website.

New York Times and Jacobin Scuffle Over USDA Food Stamps Report

A recent report from the United States Department of Agriculture detailing the buying habits of the country’s federal food stamps Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) showed that sweetened beverages including soft drinks, fruit juices, energy drinks and sweetened teas comprised 9.3 percent of the grocery bill for all SNAP households, the New York Times reported. The article written by Anahad O’Connor initially misidentified the “sweetened beverages” category as being carbonated soft drinks alone, but was later corrected to state the number for soft drinks skewed closer to 5 percent of all purchases.

The article earned a rebuttal from Jacobin’s Joe Soss, who criticized O’Connor for wrongly claiming that “SNAP is a multibillion-dollar taxpayer subsidy of the soda industry.” Soss cited the USDA report itself as evidence that O’Connor’s claims were off base. Other media took issue with the notion that SNAP households were disproportionate consumers of CSDs — “In fact,” noted New Food Economy’s Kristin Wartman Lawless, “the difference in soda purchasing habits between SNAP households and non-SNAP households amounts to one percentage point, with SNAP households spending five percent on sodas and non-SNAP households spending four percent.”

“The report does not state that SNAP changes what people buy at the grocery store; it does not suggest any effect on buying soda; and its findings differ considerably from the picture O’Connor paints,” Soss wrote.

5-Hour Energy Founder Discusses Philanthropy With CNN

In a video report from CNN, billionaire 5-Hour Energy founder Manoj Bhargava discussed the progress of his investment fund, Stage Two Innovations. Stage Two has put money into researching affordable ways to generate clean energy, purify water, and help the physically ill with innovative new medical devices.

“The part of humanity I really want to serve is not the rich people,” Bhargava said. “It’s … the bottom one-third of the world in terms of wealth. The people who need it more. They need exactly the same thing we do, which is to make a living and take care of their families.”