Butterfly Bakery in Clifton New Jersey has been closed under a consent decree for permanent injunction. The bakery unlawfully distributed misbranded foods as “sugar free”, such as muffins and snack cakes. The decree was signed on March 5, 2013 by Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh. Under the decree, the FDA may assess damages against the company for future violations.
Melinda K. Plaisier, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, said in a statement, “this injunction demonstrates that the FDA will seek enforcement action against companies that mislead consumers on the products they purchase. Until Butterfly Bakery meets FDA regulations, it will no longer be able to process or distribute their products.”
Product samples from the facility obtained and tested by the FDA and state officials over several years show the product labeling was false and misleading. Lab analysis proved that foods labeled “sugar free” contained sugar”, and some products had as much as three times the amount of sugar declared on the label. Other products had twice the amount of declared fat, and twice the amount of declared saturated fat.
I don’t understand why this company is being attacked? The product is good and taste great. This was a small business built from scratch by a struggling young woman who had a dream. Sometimes small businesses are put under fire, and never are have the chance to explain the issue from their point of view? The media is so quick to discredit and destroy someones hard work and dreams to live the american dream to be CEO’s. I say, there is always the other side of the story. Good luck to Butterfly Bakery. And I hope the FDA gives this business a chance to rectify the issue at hand before shutting it down. But its okay for the major brands who push SUGAR into the kids mouths?
It doesn’t matter how nice the owners of a business are, or what they make. The product must contain what the label states, or it is mislabeled and illegal to sell. The “media” isn’t “discrediting” anyone; we’re just reporting what the FDA has found in lab tests. Those breads DID contain sugar, when the label said they were sugar-free. That is a lie, and that IS “pushing sugar into kid’s mouths.”
What about diabetics who bought and ate these products? Don’t the owners realize the danger such malicious marketing imposes!!!
Exactly.
Geoff, did you read the warning letter FDA sent them back on May 31, 2011? They were caught in violation of the Food Drug and Cosmetic act, presented with the evidence, and told what to to to correct it. That was almost two years ago.
And following the regs is not that hard, really. If you are serious about it, you either hire an employee or hire a consultant who knows what they’re doing. Unless you intend to deceive, in which case all it takes is a pair of hands.
geoffrey McClanahan That’s the problem in what you wrote, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND….. If a person who is a diabetic needs to look for and eat only SUGAR FREE Products but is FOOLED into eating something that will HARM them. WHY should the company/people who did the harming get a second chance. After all, they are the ones who MADE the harmful product in the first place.