Wiener wars

I really hope Oscar Mayer’s lawyers rolled up in the Wiener-Mobile when they arrived at a federal courtroom in Chicago Monday. Beef content in hot dogs and truth in advertising are points of contention as the Oscar Mayer lawyers square off with those from competitor Ball Park Franks in federal court this week, with each company accusing the other of false advertising. Ball Park Franks is a division of Sara Lee Corp, while Kraft Foods Inc. fuels the aforementioned Wiener-Mobile and pays Oscar Mayer lawyers. According to an Associated Press article, the dispute began in 2009, when Sara Lee filed suit, asserting Oscar Mayer ads claiming the brand beat Ball Park Franks in national taste tests were deceptive. Kraft fired back with a suit claiming Ball Park Franks went too far with an advertising claim to be "America's Best Franks." Sara Lee also disputes Oscar Mayer’s promotions saying its beef hot dogs are “100 percent pure beef.” If you want to be picky, I suppose they aren’t 100 percent beef, as they all contain seasonings in addition to meat. Oscar Mayer defends its claim, saying it simply means beef is the only meat in the company’s beef wieners...more