Honest Company Sued Over Organic Infant Formula
The Honest Company is no stranger to lawsuits. Having previously been in trouble because of their sunscreen and cleaning products the company moved forward claiming both suits were “without merit”, but, they are being sued again.
Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit, and politically active group, has filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that the Honest Co. has violated the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 and the California Organic Products Act of 2003, by claiming their Premium Infant Formula is organic.
From the Yahoo article:
“The Honest Co. is falsely representing its Premium Infant Formula as ‘organic’ even though this product contains 11 synthetic substances prohibited under federal law in organic products,” Katherine Paul, associate director of the Organic Consumers Association, told ABC News. “This is unacceptable.”
At issue are those 11, nonagricultural substances- one of which is the ingredient taurine. According to Wikipedia, taurine is, “is an organic compound that is widely distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine, and accounts for up to 0.1% of total human body weight. Taurine has many fundamental biological roles, such as conjugation of bile acids, antioxidation, osmoregulation, membrane stabilization, and modulation of calcium signaling. It is essential for cardiovascular function, and development and function of skeletal muscle, the retina, and the central nervous system.” However, the practice of using it in baby formula has never been studied so they aren’t sure if its even necessary.
Because of that fact, the National Organic Standards Board declined to add to the national list of accepted ingredients in July of 2012: “Taurine can be made or extracted from non-synthetic sources, although apparently available only in small amounts at this time. Although essential for cats and thus added to cat pet food, taurine is considered a non-essential human dietary supplement. ” Ms. Paul would like Honest to remove the word “organic” or remove the ingredients.
In response to this lawsuit, the company released the following statement, “Our Organic Infant Formula is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and meets all safety and nutritional standards. It is also certified USDA Organic by an independent third party, in strict accordance with the National Organic Program. We are confident this lawsuit will be dismissed.”
