Skip to comments.

Posted on 07/25/2003 10:05:44 AM PDT by bedolido

Trial lawyers and a consumer health group are teaming up to go after America's ice cream, sending out legal notices to six major chains this week as the group released a study criticizing ice cream's nutritional value.

They sent letters to Baskin-Robbins Inc., Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., Cold Stone Creamery, the Haagen-Dazs Shoppes Inc., TCBY and Friendly Ice Cream Corp., telling the chains to add healthier alternatives and put nutritional facts on their store menu boards or face potential litigation.

"Your failure to disclose such obviously material information as unusually large calorie and saturated-fat loads may violate state consumer-protection laws and/or your common-law duty to disclose material facts, and may invite lawsuits from concerned consumers, legal-action organizations, or even state officials," read one letter addressed to Haagen-Dazs President David Keil.

The letter was signed by George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf III, a leader in the obesity-lawsuit movement, and Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

It's the third type of notice Mr. Banzhaf has sent in the last month since organizing a conference on obesity lawsuits.

The warning highlights a report released Wednesday — National Ice Cream Day — by the CSPI, a Washington nonprofit, health-advocacy group that has been criticizing a range of snacks and fatty foods for the last 30 years.

The center, which has reported health problems with pizza, movie theater popcorn and Chinese food, among others, in the past, said a number of sundaes, waffle cones and milkshakes often have more than a entire day's worth of fat and calories in one serving.

"We know consumers don't assume that ice cream is a diet food, but most probably aren't aware how much stuff is in one portion," Mr. Banzhaf said.

For example, a Haagen-Dazs Mint-Chip Dazzler has 1,270 calories and 38 grams of saturated fat, about the same as eating a steak, salad and baked potato, the report said.

But ice cream lovers and manufacturers in the $20 billion industry argue the dairy food is an "indulgence" that consumers understand is naturally high in fat.

(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.