Conagra defends its MSC sustainability labeling as class-action lawsuit continues

Conagra Brands has filed a new brief supporting its motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit claiming the company’s use of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for sustainability claims are “deceptive.”

The lawsuit, filed earlier this year, seeks at least USD 5 million (EUR ) in damages and heavily criticizes both Conagra and the MSC, claiming the sustainability certification organization “blatantly violates its own standards and puts the very ecosystem MSC feigns to protect in serious danger.” Plaintiffs in the case, Abdallah Nasser and John Bohen, claim the sustainability promises made by Conagra on its packaging using MSC certification “deceives and misleads reasonable consumers.”

Conagra filed a new brief in early October claiming the litigation was a “vehicle to litigate” the plaintiff’s issues with the MSC.

“Plaintiffs do not dispute that Conagra Brands, Inc.’s products contain certified sustainable seafood,” the new filing states. “Yet they continue attempting to transform Conagra’s limited, accurate representations – that the Marine Stewardship Council certified its fish Products as sustainably sourced – into a vehicle to litigate their quarrel with the MSC.”

The plaintiffs in the case, in defense of their opposition to Conagra’s motion to dismiss, claim that the company has “turned a blind eye” to unsustainable fishing practices in its supply chain.

“Defendant [Conagra] sources the ... 

Photo courtesy of Conagra Brands