Ziploc Bags “Unbeatable” Protection and Freshness Claims Class Action

This class action brings suit against S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. about its sealable Ziploc bags. The complaint alleges that the company makes claims about the bags, including “Unbeatable Protection” and “Unbeatable Freshness,” that it says are misleading or false. This is because explanations of the claims are limited, the complaint alleges, and their application to the kinds of food storage consumers will be doing with the bags is also limited.

Two classes have been defined for this action:

• The Illinois Class is all persons in Illinois who bought the products during the applicable statutes of limitations.
• The Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class is all persons in Michigan, Iowa, Rhode Island, Georgia, North Dakota, Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Oklahoma who bought the products during the applicable statutes of limitations.

Protection claims
The box of bags shown on page 1 bears a silver shield-shaped seal that reads, “Power Shield Technology—Unbeatable Protection.” The complaint alleges, “Consumers seeing this claim will conclude the Product offers best-in-class protection for whatever they put inside it.”

Also on the box are the words, “Stronger* Than Hefty” in red, with “On Punctures and Tears” in a smaller black font beneath. The asterisk is meant to link to a disclaimer on the back, the complaint alleges, which says, “Bag film tested using ASTM D1709 Dart Drop and ASTM D2582 PPT.” The complaint says these refer to Standard Test Methods, respectively, for Impact Resistance of Plastic Film by the Free-Falling Dart Method and for Puncture-Propagation Tear Resistance of Plastic Film and Thin Sheeting.

The complaint asserts that the company’s “reliance on these tests is misleading” because the “unbeatable protection” is limited to punctures and tears, which is not what consumers will believe when they see the claim.

Freshness claims
The box of bags depicted on page 3, shows a blue seal saying “Grip’n Seal Technology” in the center and, around the edge, “Unbeatable Freshness.” The complaint alleges that this “tells consumers the Product is superior to other similar products in preserving freshness and possesses inherent qualities which maintain freshness.”

However, the complaint alleges that this statement “is based on a moisture loss test, which involved placing sliced bread in the Product for 24 hours” after which the “bag was weighed and the difference in weight attributable to moisture loss was calculated.”

The complaint contends that freshness is measured in different ways for different foods. Conditions other than moisture loss that affect food include “oxygen, humidity, temperature (freeze/thaw), light, handling, and oxidation.” Food that retains moisture, the complaint says, can still become moldy or rancid, and moldy or rancid foods are not considered fresh.

The complaint alleges, “The claim of unbeatable freshness is misleading because it misleads consumers who do not know advanced chemistry about food preservation to think its Product will be useful in all circumstances, when it will not.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels, False or Misleading Performance Figures, Item Does Not Do What It Is Advertised to Do, Providing False or Misleading Information