Hain Celestial must face arsenic claim in baby food labeling lawsuit

Hain Celestial

30/12/2024 19:54

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      Parents sued over 'heavy metals' in baby food
    

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      Lead, cadmium, mercury contamination claims are dismissed
    

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      Hain shares fall after decision
    

  
    By Jonathan Stempel
       NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said Hain
Celestial Group  HAIN.O  must face a proposed class action
claiming its labels failed to disclose the alleged presence of
arsenic in some of its baby food.
    U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison in Brooklyn said parents
plausibly alleged that some of Hain's Earth's Best Baby Food
products exceeded "recognized safe thresholds" for arsenic, and
that this would be material to reasonable shoppers deciding
whether to pay extra for healthy, safe food for their children.
    In her decision on Friday, Morrison dismissed similar claims
over the alleged presence in baby food of other "heavy metals"
including lead, cadmium and mercury, finding no clear benchmark
at which their presence would be unsafe for children.
    Shares of Hain fell as much as 7.2% on Monday.
    In seeking a dismissal, the Hoboken, New Jersey-based
company said the parents lacked standing to sue because they
could not show harm to themselves or their children.
    Hain also said the parents did not plausibly allege its
labeling was misleading, and that heavy metals "unavoidably"
exist in ingredients that grow in soil or water.
    Neither Hain nor its lawyers immediately responded to
requests for comment on Monday. Lawyers for the parents did not
immediately respond to similar requests.
    The lawsuit is one of many accusing baby food producers of
concealing toxic levels of heavy metals in baby food.
    Defendants in similar nationwide litigation in San Francisco
federal court include Beech-Nut, Nestle's  NESN.S  Gerber,
Danone's  DANO.PA  Nurture and Walmart  WMT.N , as well as Hain.
They have also denied that their baby food is unsafe.
    Parents sued after a 2021 report by a U.S. House of
Representatives subcommittee on economic and consumer policy
said "dangerous" levels of heavy metals in some baby food could
cause neurological damage.
    The case is In re Hain Celestial Heavy Metals Baby Food
Litigation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York,
No. 21-00678.

 (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David
Gregorio)
 ((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))