Opinion ID: 867071
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trans Fat Claims

Text: The essence of Young’s argument regarding the Trans Fat Claims is that, although the regulations authorize Benecol to claim that it contains “0g of Trans Fat Per Serving,” they do not expressly permit a claim of “NO TRANS FAT” for the product as a whole. Thus, Young contends that he “seeks to prohibit false and misleading nutrient content 3 The District Court did not reach Young’s alternative theories of liability based on breach of express and implied warranties and unjust enrichment. He does not press those theories on appeal, and we do not address them. 4 The District Court also concluded that Young lacked standing because he had not pled a sufficient injury-in-fact. We note that cases from the District of New Jersey have found that plaintiffs have standing to sue under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”) when they have alleged financial injuries based on their purchase of a product that did not have the attributes it claimed. See, e.g., Lieberson v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos., Inc., 865 F. Supp. 2d 529, 537 (D.N.J. 2011) (finding standing under the CFA based on consumer’s assertion that she would not have purchased the product but for its claim that it would help her baby to sleep better); Green v. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., 279 F.R.D. 275, 280 (D.N.J. 2011) (finding standing under the CFA based on consumer’s allegation that he purchased a coffee maker based on allegedly false representation that it would brew a programmed quantity of coffee); Zebersky v. Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., No. 06-1735, 2006 WL 3454993, at  (D.N.J. Nov. 29, 2006) (concluding that a consumer “alleged an injury in fact sufficient to withstand [a] motion [to dismiss]” under the CFA because she alleged “that the goods purchased were of inferior quality to what was represented by defendants”). Though tenuous, Young’s standing under the specific facts of this case is sufficient for us to consider the merits. 5 claims regarding trans fat content per product. Prohibition of such statements is not inconsistent with the FDA’s regulation allowing nutrient content claims about trans fat per serving.” (Appellant’s Opening Br. at 25 (emphasis in original).) The FDA nutrition information regulation that covers trans fat content generally requires “[a] statement of the number of grams of trans fat in a serving,” but further provides that “[i]f the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero.” 21 C.F.R. § 101.9(c)(2)(ii). The regulation also says that such amounts are deemed to be “insignificant amounts” for purposes of the “declaration of nutrition information.” Id. § 101.9(f)(1). Benecol contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, and therefore properly discloses that it contains “0g of trans fat” per serving in the Nutrition Facts box. While FDA regulations do not specifically say a product can advertise itself as containing “NO TRANS FAT” when it has an insignificant amount, they do allow “nutrient content claim[s],” id. § 101.13(b), such as claims that a product contains “no fat” or “no saturated fat,” without reference to a per-serving limitation, provided that the product indeed contains less than 0.5 grams per serving, id. § 101.62(b)(1), (c)(1). And more broadly, FDA regulations permit the label to contain a “statement about the amount or percentage of a nutrient” if it is “not false or misleading.” Id. § 101.13(i)(3). The FDA has long recognized the potential for a discrepancy between required disclosure of “zero grams per serving” and an accurate nutrient content claim that the product is not, in fact “free” of the nutrient in question. Because “[s]uch declarations could be confusing to consumers, and this consequence is unintended[,] ... the 6 determination of whether a product is free of a nutrient [is] based on the value of the nutrient ... per labeled serving.” 58 Fed. Reg. 44025 (Aug. 18, 1993). In the interest of clarity and consistency with the nutritional information, FDA regulations therefore authorize nutrient content claims based on per serving amounts, even if those claims are not entirely accurate on a per product basis. For example, the regulations authorize nutrient content claims that a food is “calorie free” if it contains less than 5 calories per serving, 21 C.F.R. § 101.60(b)(1); that a food is “sodium free” if it contains less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving, id. § 101.61(b)(1); and that a food contains “no fat” or “no saturated fat” if it contains less than 0.5 grams per serving, id. § 101.62(b)(1), (c)(1). Consequently, the “NO TRANS FAT” claim on the Benecol label is not “misleading” as that term is used in 21 C.F.R. § 1.13(i)(3), and is authorized under that provision, even if a “no trans fat” claim is not expressly contemplated by the regulations.5 Nutrient content claim regulations promulgated under the NLEA thus authorize the Trans Fat Claims, based on the per serving amount of trans fats that the product contains. Because Young seeks to bar that disclosure under state law, in effect enforcing 5 Three other courts that have recently reached the same conclusion. See Carrea v. Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Inc., 475 F. App’x 113, 115 (9th Cir. 2010) (concluding that “0g Trans Fat … is an express nutrient content claim that the [FDA] not only permits, but further instructs should mirror the Nutrition Facts panel” (citations omitted)); Chacanaca v. Quaker Oats Co., 752 F. Supp. 2d 1111, 1121 (N.D. Cal. 2010) (concluding that “‘nutritionally insignificant amounts’ of less than 0.5 grams trans fats means the same thing, according to [FDA] regulations, as ‘0 grams,’” and that “the use of the latter language in a[] ... nutrient content claim would not be misleading within the meaning of [the FDCA] or any of its regulations”); Reid v. Johnson & Johnson, No. 11-cv-01310-L- BLM, 2012 WL 4108114, at  (S.D. Cal. Sept. 18, 2012) (concluding that FDA regulations authorize the “no Trans Fat” and “No Trans Fatty Acids” claims on the Benecol label because “[m]aking a distinction between ‘No Trans Fat’ and ‘0 grams trans fat’ is unreasonable”). 7 state law requirements that are not identical to the NLEA, his action is expressly preempted as it relates to those claims.