Hebrew National, Log Cabin kosher, natural claims challenged

— -- The makers of Hebrew National products, Log Cabin syrup and Birds Eye frozen corn are facing lawsuits that claim the labels on their products are deceptive or misleading.

Two Vermont lawyers filed a suit Tuesday accusing the maker of Log Cabin syrup and Birds Eye corn of deceptively labeling their products as "natural."

And a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota claims that Hebrew National products, made by ConAgra Foods, aren't really kosher, despite the package labels.

The suit claims employees at a third-party kosher certifier for ConAgra complained of witnessing procedures at meat plants that weren't kosher, but says the complaints were dismissed and the employees were fired or threatened. ConAgra Foods says the suit is without merit.

For meat to be kosher, the animal the meat came from must be healthy and clean. The lawsuit says animals used to make Hebrew National products do not meet those standards; unclean and unhealthy animals are often selected to be slaughtered for kosher meats, it says.

"Pressure is put on the employees inspecting and slaughtering the cows to maximize kosher meat production by slaughtering unclean cows," the suit states.

ConAgra says in a statement that there is "close rabbinical supervision" of its food processing and packaging.

The Vermont lawyers say the "natural" wording on Log Cabin and Birds Eye products are deceptive because the foods manufactured by Pinnacle Foods Group of Parsippany, N.J., contain synthetic and genetically modified ingredients.

"It's clearly designed to misrepresent the product and to deceive the consumers, and that's what we're trying to stop," said Kenneth Miller, an attorney with Law for Food, a Stowe, Vt. organization that provides legal advice to food producers.

The lawsuit filed in Chittenden County Superior Court represents a new tactic in the drive to differentiate foods that contain genetically modified ingredients from those that don't. Vermont, among other states, considered but backed off of passing legislation that would require labeling of genetically modified ingredienets because of the threat of a lawsuit from seed manufacturers, including Monsanto.

"Today, we're filing the lawsuit. We're not waiting for Monsanto to file the lawsuit," said Jared Carter, an attorney with the Vermont Community Law Center in Burlington.

"Although we have heard about a pending lawsuit, we have yet to be served and have not received any information," Pinnacle Foods spokeswoman Elizabeth Rowland said by e-mail Tuesday.

Much of the processed food available in the United States contains corn or soybean oil produced from genetically engineered seed. Manufacturers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration consider genetically modified foods to be safe.

The Vermont lawsuit makes no attempt to challenge the science of genetically modified foods and its safety. Carter said he doesn't think they will have to make that case, but only show that a consumer could reasonably conclude that "natural" on the label would mean the ingredients aren't synthetic or derived from genetic engineering.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not explicitly define "natural," Carter said. That provides an opportunity for states to enforce a definition, he said.

The FDA, on its website, says , "From a food science perspective, it is difficult to define a food product that is 'natural' because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth. That said, FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives. However, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances."

Contributing: Associated Press