Lawsuit Seeks To Ban Oreos

**sbp** · 05-13-2003, 05:05 AM

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercuryne...al/5848585.htm

"It doesn't matter if you like to dunk them in milk or twist them apart, Californians may not get to eat Oreos at all after a San Francisco lawyer sued to ban the cookies claiming they're dangerous."

British-born attorney Stephen Joseph holds an Oreo cookie in San Francisco May 12, 2003. Joseph, who has spent much of his life enjoying Oreo biscuits has sued Kraft Foods. and is seeking to ban the much-loved cookies in California because they contain trans fat, an ingredient he calls inedible.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/05/13/oreo.suit.reut/
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...05/12/OREO.TMP

And wouldn't you know it-he has support.
"State Sen. Debra Bowen, a leader in state nutrition-reform legislation, called Joseph's choice of the California product liability law to go after food makers who use trans fat a unique approach."

Lying in ambush this Oreo cookie seeks to snare an unsuspecting eater.

**topane** · 05-13-2003, 05:11 AM

Originally posted by sbp
British-born attorney Stephen Joseph holds an Oreo cookie in San Francisco May 12, 2003. Joseph, who has spent much of his life enjoying Oreo biscuits has sued Kraft Foods. and is seeking to ban the much-loved cookies in California because they contain trans fat, an ingredient he calls inedible.

Then don't ****ing eat them, moron! Everyone know they're not healthy. Sheesh.

**revil** · 05-13-2003, 05:28 AM

Originally posted by topane
Everyone know they're not healthy. Sheesh.

They're not healthy?

There goes my special diet.

I wondered why I didn't loose any weight....

**guiseppewv** · 05-13-2003, 06:32 AM

And to think I thought they were fat and sugar free.

There will never be a shortage of idiots in the world.

**attgig** · 05-13-2003, 07:06 AM

no way in hell that the guy wins...

how would they pick the jury???

prosecutor questioning....:
now, Have you in your life time eaten Oreo's
have you enjoyed them?

so retarded....

**guiseppewv** · 05-13-2003, 07:07 AM

Originally posted by attgig
no way in hell that the guy wins...

how would they pick the jury???

prosecutor questioning....:
now, Have you in your life time eaten Oreo's
have you enjoyed them?

so retarded....

So true.

I can see it now.....I have eaten oreos but I did not enjoy them and I did not swallow.

**bachviet** · 05-13-2003, 07:55 AM

He's not an idiot. He just makes frivilous lawsuits that's all just like whoever sued McDonald, Burger King, and etc.

**Sir_Froggy** · 05-13-2003, 08:03 AM

lol what a moron....people need to find something better to do with their time.

**avlena** · 05-13-2003, 10:16 AM

Originally posted by DarkFury
See... "The Man" is just tryin to hold the Black cookie down...

I bet he wouldn't have had a problem with them had they been "Lemon Cremes" or "Vanilla cremes".

ah, but you forget, the oreos are white on the inside!

so maybe he's against foods white on the inside, black on the outside...

maybe he'll go after ding dongs next!

**Kevster** · 05-13-2003, 11:18 AM

Originally posted by DarkFury
See... "The Man" is just tryin to hold the Black cookie down...

I bet he wouldn't have had a problem with them had they been "Lemon Cremes" or "Vanilla cremes".

DF - you think he's just going to stop at Oreos? Hell no! No cookie is safe from this guy! Lemon Cremes, Vanilla Cremes, Lady Fingers, they're all next! We need to stop this now!

Actually, maybe if we blame an another source as the cause of the transfatty acids - like Canada! Yeah! Canada is to blame for this! We need to stop them NOW!

**Hiro** · 05-13-2003, 11:25 AM

It's people like him that the jokes about how "in america, you can sue anyone for anything" come about.

This is utter bull****. Sorry, but like said before, IF YOU PERSONALLY THINK IT'S UNHEALTHY, DONT ****ING EAT THE DAMNED THING!

Don't ****ing ruin it for everyone else!

**Hiro** · 05-13-2003, 11:28 AM

I can see it now.

"Box of Oreo Cookies" on sale at Ebay.

**ShortStack** · 05-13-2003, 11:39 AM

When I first saw it, I thought for sure it was going to be some sort of "racist" thing with the oreos, but no...they can't be creative these days. They have to just point out the blatent facts of it being bad for you. What is the world coming to? No creativity! If you're going to make a lawsuit on something dumb, at least make it interesting.

**mojo** · 05-13-2003, 02:25 PM

Originally posted by sbp

hey, isn't that dustin hoffman?

**le_stick** · 05-13-2003, 04:13 PM

WTF!!!! that's all I can say.....

**mcs328** · 05-13-2003, 04:56 PM

Someone should send him a truck load of OREOs to his doorstep. What is the world coming to.

And I agree with everyone else...don't fricking eat the thing then!!!
..but...oooooh...it calls my name at night...eat me...eaaaaaat meeeee...

**thatonefilipinoguy** · 05-13-2003, 05:50 PM

Another example of why I'm starting to believe that too much information is getting in the wrong hands.

**shock32638** · 05-13-2003, 06:07 PM

"It has been deemed that anything not good for you is bad, hence illegal. Alcohol, caffeine, contact sports, meat."

Name that Quote...

**Hoser** · 05-13-2003, 11:05 PM

That quote is from Demolition Man. Sandra Bullock said it.

**guiseppewv** · 05-14-2003, 06:19 AM

Originally posted by Corsec
I can see it now.

"Box of Oreo Cookies" on sale at Ebay.

Ebay will remove the auction b/c they will be illegal.

**zenbooty** · 05-15-2003, 07:10 AM

S.F. lawyer plans to drop Oreo suit
All the national publicity about trans fat made his point, he says

Kim Severson, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, May 15, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oreo lovers can breathe a big, fat sigh of relief.

The San Francisco attorney who made news earlier this week for suing Kraft Inc. to stop the sale of Oreos to California children because the cookies are high in trans fat plans to drop the suit today.

The reason? He's drawn so much media attention that he says he's accomplished what he set out to do -- raise awareness about trans fat, a hidden but dangerous substance in processed food.

"You've got to recognize when you've scored a home run," said Stephen Joseph, who filed the suit against Nabisco on May 1 in Marin County Superior Court. "We have raised the awareness of trans fat to the top of the mountain."

Trans fat -- partially hydrogenated oil -- is in about 40 percent of the food on grocery store shelves. It's what makes crackers crisp and keeps Twinkies fresh for what seems like an eternity. It's also in the fryers of most major fast-food chains.

And, it's what makes Oreos so crunchy and creamy. But for now, the cookies and their maker, Kraft Foods, are safe from Joseph's legal attempt to get them banned.

"What more success do I want? To force Kraft to crawl? Kraft is already under the gun. Kraft is going to have to deal with the fact that the public is now aware of what it puts in Oreos," Joseph said.

But not everyone was entirely pleased. "To see someone file a suit, then drop it after they've decided they've gotten enough media attention for it is pretty disappointing," said Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, a supporter of the suit who has also sponsored several pieces of nutrition legislation. "A stunt like this does more harm than good because people will walk away from it thinking since the suit was a joke, then any claims about trans fat being dangerously unhealthy for them must be a joke, too."

The Chronicle received calls from CNN, the London Times and the Canadian National Post after reporting about the suit on Monday. On Tuesday morning, Joseph, who most recently sued the Department of Parking and Traffic to get the agency to remove graffiti from its traffic signs, was being interviewed by Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America."

His story and a picture appeared Wednesday in the New York Times. His own Web site, bantransfat.com, went from fewer than 500 hits before the story broke to more than 75,000 two days later. The conservative Drudge Report featured the story, which prompted a flood of anti-lawyer responses from readers who called the suit frivolous.

"I would like to file a lawsuit against all lawyers for being hazardous to our way of life. Problem is I would need a lawyer to argue the case and another lawyer, the judge, to hear it," Ken Hughes e-mailed The Chronicle.

At Kraft headquarters in Northfield, Ill., spokesman Michael Mudd said the company had received 277 calls or e-mails about Oreos, about half of which were in support of the company. Fifteen percent were critical and the rest just wanted factual information.

Mudd said he was pleased Joseph was dropping the suit but said officials at Kraft -- like those at most major food manufacturers -- are exploring how to eliminate trans fat from their products.

Plus, he said, Joseph's legal premise was weak. The attorney had planned to use a provision in California law that says manufacturers can be liable for unsafe products if the fact that the product is unsafe is not common knowledge.

However, Mudd argued that health concerns about trans fat are commonly known. When word of the suit got to Kraft, researchers found that since 1993 more than 3,000 print pieces on trans fat had been published, he said.

**guiseppewv** · 05-15-2003, 12:15 PM

I'm gald he quit wasting our time.

**Nija** · 05-15-2003, 08:00 PM

zen i wonder which is true?
Link

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A lawsuit seeking to ban Kraft Foods from selling Oreos to children because the chocolate-cream cookies are allegedly unhealthy will be dropped, the San Francisco lawyer who filed the suit said Wednesday.

Stephen Joseph's suit alleged that Oreos are unhealthy because they contain trans fat, which the National Academy of Sciences has linked to heart disease.

Joseph said he will drop his lawsuit because he has learned that Kraft is working on ways to reduce trans fat in Oreos.

Kraft spokesman Michael Mudd confirmed the company has been working on ways to reduce trans fat in the cookie, including introducing a reduced fat version now on the market.

"This is not something that we've just started" in response to Joseph's lawsuit, he said.

whichever, tho, the lawsuit has been dropped.