David Sunflower Seeds Company Will Change Label in Settlement

A class action settlement agreement was reached on Aug. 1 between ConAgra Foods Inc. and a group of plaintiffs that the maker of David brand sunflower seeds will list the sodium content for both the kernels and shells on its label.

The David sunflower seeds class action lawsuit alleged that ConAgra did not include the total sodium content on its packaging.

A judge had previously dismissed the class action lawsuit, saying that it was a matter that fell under the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided to bring the case back in February.

The appellate court ruled that while it is a situation that is preempted by the federal law, that the California state laws the plaintiff claims were violated were not preempted.

Under the agreement, all David sunflower seed labels will be redesigned to include the sodium content for both the kernels and the shells’ coating, plaintiff Aleta Lilly explained in her motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement.

Lilly filed her class action lawsuit against ConAgra in January 2012 “alleging that ConAgra committed unlawful and unfair business practices by failing to disclose that total amount of sodium in the Nutrition Fact Labels of its David Sunflower Seeds in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.”

According to the California woman, ConAgra only included the sodium content for the kernels on the packaging, but left out the sodium content for the shells.

However, ConAgra had “disclosed the sodium for the shells’ coating outside the Nutrition Facts Panel.”

Lilly accused the food maker of “false advertising and deceptive practices in violation of the [Unfair Competition Law],” as well as California’s False Advertising Law and California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

However, ConAgra “has consistently denied Plaintiff’s allegations.”

The class action settlement was reached between the two parties with the help of a mediator, after ConAgra and Lilly fought it out for two years “including appellate practice and extensive written discovery.”

Besides the David sunflower seeds packaging, ConAgra will also update the nutrition facts available on its website.

However, no products will be recalled as a result of the false advertising class action settlement. Nor is ConAgra required to stop using packaging that was made before the settlement was reached.

ConAgra has agreed that all David sunflower seed labels will be in compliance with the class action settlement agreement by Jan. 31, 2015.

“However, defendant may, now or after Jan. 31, 2015, exhaust all existing packaging inventory and thereafter sell and distribute David sunflower seeds bearing labeling printed on or before the final approval date, without violating the terms of this agreement,” the motion states.

The plaintiffs are represented by Rosemary M. Rivas of Finkelstein Thompson LLP.

The defendant is represented by Laura E. Coombe, A. Brooks Gresham and Joan S. Dinsmore of McGuire Woods LLP.

The David Sunflower Seeds Class Action Lawsuit is Aleta Lilly v. ConAgra Foods Inc., Case No. 2:12-cv-00225, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.