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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Sep-17-17, 16:21
hawaiinei hawaiinei is offline
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Plan: High fat, low carb
Stats: 225/179/180 Male 74 inches
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Default Costco settles class action lawsuit over their "healthy" coconut oil

I just got a notice in the mail saying I'm eligible to file a claim in a just-settled lawsuit made against Costco for their claim that their coconut oil was "healthy". First I've heard of it.

Quote:
Purchasers of Costco coconut oil can qualify for reimbursement under terms of a recent $775,000 class action settlement.

This Costco class action lawsuit began in March 2016, when plaintiffs James Boswell and Malia Levin challenged representations on Costco coconut oil that present the product as “healthy.” The product at issue comes in a 42.3-ounce jar and is sold under the Kirkland label, Costco’s house brand, often sold in two-jar packs.

The plaintiffs accuse Costco of exploiting consumer interest in foods that are perceived as being “healthy.” Coconut oil has a substantial amount of saturated fat, which increases the chance of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and other dangerous diseases, the plaintiffs say. That risk makes Costco coconut oil inherently unhealthy and a less healthy alternative to other fats and oils.

After more than a year of discovery, preliminary motions and mediation sessions, the parties agreed to this class action settlement in May 2017. The settlement requires Costco to put up a $775,000 settlement fund to cover compensation for Class Members. This fund will also cover the plaintiffs’ service awards, court costs, class counsel’s attorneys’ fees, and the costs of administering the settlement.

Costco has also agreed to remove the terms “healthy” and “healthful” from the label of Costco coconut oil and to refrain from any future use of those terms or any variation of the term “healthy.”

Although Costco has agreed to the settlement, it maintains that it has done nothing wrong. The settlement agreement does not require Costco to make any admissions, and the court has not issued any decision on liability.

Class Members who want to be excluded from the settlement must do so in writing by Oct. 30, 2017. Those who want to object to the settlement’s terms must file their objections by Nov. 13, 2017.

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit...ion-settlement/

I was just thinking earlier, what would stop someone from claiming that organic butter, lard and tallow were healthy. Ah, now I see. A class action lawsuit.
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Sep-17-17, 17:48
deirdra's Avatar
deirdra deirdra is offline
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Posts: 4,324
 
Plan: vLC/GF,CF,SF
Stats: 197/136/150 Female 66 inches
BF:
Progress: 130%
Location: Alberta
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How many people are dead or have lost their eyesight or limbs due to eating "heart healthy" Froot Loops and other processed cereals that the AHA or ADA have put their stamp of approval on? If people are willing to take on Costco, hopefully Kellogg's, General Mills or Post will be next.

Last edited by deirdra : Sun, Sep-17-17 at 18:00.
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Sep-17-17, 21:42
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GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
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Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185 Male 6' 0"
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Location: Herndon, VA
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I agree that it would be nice to see the cereal manufacturers challenged in a lawsuit; however, the issue with Costco was based on the dangerous saturated fat contained in the coconut oil they're selling. Costco also sells sugar cereal as well, but I guess this doesn't carry the danger of saturated fat. What a world, what a world . . . .
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Sep-17-17, 22:22
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mike_d mike_d is offline
Grease is the word!
Posts: 8,475
 
Plan: PSMF/IF
Stats: 236/181/180 Male 72 inches
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Progress: 98%
Location: Alamo city, Texas
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Yes, "everyone knows" coconut oil is an "artery clogging" tropical oil! How dare they market it as "healthy."
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Sep-17-17, 22:59
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
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Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
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Hi mike, are you still doing the Kefir?
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  #6   ^
Old Mon, Sep-18-17, 07:31
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
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Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
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Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deirdra
How many people are dead or have lost their eyesight or limbs due to eating "heart healthy" Froot Loops and other processed cereals that the AHA or ADA have put their stamp of approval on? If people are willing to take on Costco, hopefully Kellogg's, General Mills or Post will be next.


I get freebies of cereal for my chickens. The latest batch was a Cheerios look-alike: oat flour, wheat starch, sugar, corn starch, & so on. On the front of the box it says "Smart for your Health" & "USDA recommends consuming 48g or more of whole grain daily."

So who should get sued - the USDA or Ralston Foods?

Seriously, tho, Costco must have had bad lawyers. Even if the government says a food is not healthy, it has been shown wrong in the past. But science doesn't seem to get very far with juries (I'm assuming there was a jury). Johnson & Johnson has lost a couple of cases even tho there is no proof that talcum powder causes cancer.
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  #7   ^
Old Mon, Sep-18-17, 08:18
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Calianna Calianna is offline
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Plan: Atkins-ish (hypoglycemia)
Stats: 000/000/000 Female 63
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I bought a jar of the Costco coconut oil one time (at least a couple of years ago, when they first had it in stock), but don't recall if it said anything at all about being healthy. I haven't received any notification from them yet that there was a class action.

I ended up taking it back after taking a taste of it. It was supposed to be virgin coconut oil, so it should have tasted like coconuts, but it just tasted "off" to me, not at all what I was used to when buying coconut oil. To me, the likely cause of it's taste was being packaged in a plastic jar, instead of the glass jars I was used to, and I'm thinking it must have picked up some off-flavor from the plastic.

Back when there was a recall on almond butter - can't recall the brand name, but it was before they started selling their own brand of almond butter. They notified me that their records showed I had bought it, and that I should return it because of the recall.

So I suppose it's possible that this time I didn't receive any notification because their records show I took it back after tasting it, but then again, it may be because in the case of the almond butter, there was a recall, as opposed to a class action with the coconut oil.
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Sep-19-17, 06:45
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WereBear WereBear is online now
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Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
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Location: USA
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I flirt with danger every day, apparently! I feel like James Bond or something.
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, Sep-19-17, 13:41
mike_d's Avatar
mike_d mike_d is offline
Grease is the word!
Posts: 8,475
 
Plan: PSMF/IF
Stats: 236/181/180 Male 72 inches
BF:disappearing!
Progress: 98%
Location: Alamo city, Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meme#1
Hi mike, are you still doing the Kefir?
Of course, I wouldn't give that up. Maybe 1/2 cup daily for the health benefits. Made with milk and some half&half. Don't use cream anymore due to the carrageen in it.
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  #10   ^
Old Tue, Sep-19-17, 14:39
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Merpig Merpig is offline
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Plan: EF/Fung IDM/keto
Stats: 375/225.4/175 Female 66.5 inches
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Location: NE Florida
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_d
Of course, I wouldn't give that up. Maybe 1/2 cup daily for the health benefits. Made with milk and some half&half. Don't use cream anymore due to the carrageen in it.
Bummer, you're right! My fridge has been empty for days after losing everything due to five days without power after Hurricane Irma. And I've been sick too, so today was the first day I had some energy to go to the grocery store. I've been buying half-and-half lately also to avoid the carrageenan in cream, but today I just added a pint of heavy cream into my cart 🛒 on automatic pilot!
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  #11   ^
Old Tue, Sep-19-17, 19:54
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
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Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
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Location: Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_d
Of course, I wouldn't give that up. Maybe 1/2 cup daily for the health benefits. Made with milk and some half&half. Don't use cream anymore due to the carrageen in it.



My grains were multiplying so fast that I couldn't keep up with them. I had jar after jar and nothing to do with them so I drank more and more until I realized that I might be getting overloaded with too much yeast. One day my head began itching all over like crazy almost like an allergic reaction. So I decided to stop for a little while and then I just couldn't eat it again, especially when it became so carbonated. I also started having heartburn like back when I consumed carbs. IDK if it was the milk base or the yeast and I have never been one to have a problem with yeast.
So I guess I burned myself out with it....
I put some of the grains in some milk and then stored it in the rear of the refrigerator and they aren't totally frozen but close to it.
I may try it again if those grains will wake up.
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, Sep-20-17, 16:13
Zei Zei is offline
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Plan: Carb reduction in general
Stats: 230/185/180 Female 5 ft 9 in
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Progress: 90%
Location: Texas
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I'm guessing freezing might kill the kefir grains, but in some milk in the fridge mine have stayed good for up to nearly six weeks while I was gone. Some organic brands of cream in regular grocery stores near me don't have the carrageenan but of course cost more. Speaking of Costco, they sell the organic stuff by the half gallon. My guess is they didn't challenge the erroneous claim of coconut oil being unhealthy because proving it would have cost a lot more money and time than just settling, giving the complainers some money to make them happy and go away.
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  #13   ^
Old Fri, Sep-22-17, 21:39
mike_d's Avatar
mike_d mike_d is offline
Grease is the word!
Posts: 8,475
 
Plan: PSMF/IF
Stats: 236/181/180 Male 72 inches
BF:disappearing!
Progress: 98%
Location: Alamo city, Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zei
My guess is they didn't challenge the erroneous claim of coconut oil being unhealthy because proving it would have cost a lot more money and time than just settling, giving the complainers some money to make them happy and go away.
Yeah, they didn't even try the product but sued for 'economic damage.' Eying those deep pockets?

Kefir is sensitive to temperature, higher or maybe lower?= more yeast.

Grains can be dried then frozen, or even stored in pure water for a month or more. Mine resemble popcorn, but due to frequent fridge storage they don't multiply very much.

One thing I believe it does is colonize the mouth/GI tract and drive out the bad bacteria that can cause cavities, failure to thrive and gum disease. I take a little before bed after brushing/flossing and now the gingivitis the detest said "can't be cured but just slowed down with frequent cleanings" has vanished along with the tooth stains. I should know more the next check-up. I also use the "heal thy mouth blend" essential oil mouth drops twice-a-day.

Can't explain the itching allergy, likely immune system over-reacting to something. Might want to get that checked out

Last edited by mike_d : Fri, Sep-22-17 at 21:50.
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  #14   ^
Old Sat, Sep-23-17, 12:41
Sagehill Sagehill is offline
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Posts: 14,561
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 250/161.4/130 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 74%
Location: Central FL
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Quote:
Grains can be dried then frozen, or even stored in pure water for a month or more. Mine resemble popcorn, but due to frequent fridge storage they don't multiply very much.

I've had kefir grains off and on for 18 years. Once I forgot a quart jar in the back of my milk fridge for 6 months. There was a lot of whey, but grains had kept growing the whole time and were huge. Since the kefir smelled fine, I drank some... it's just cultured milk after all, lol.

It was fine, a little too tart to drink by itself after six months culturing, so I poured the whey off and strained the rest to make a tangy cream cheese substitute, seasoned with herbs and salt and pepper... garlic-dill is my favorite.

If you have too many grains, you can share them. As grains are fairly expensive to buy, I mailed quite a bit to various people on the cow forum for price of postage. Or you can sacrifice your extras to make soda kefir from grape or apple juice, a kind of sparkling wine or apple beer, but the grains won't work for milk afterwards.

Or, if you have them, chickens and dogs love both kefir and grains! Or, YOU can eat them... they're fine blended up in a smoothie!

That reminds me... my kefir grains are getting too big, too. lol
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  #15   ^
Old Sat, Oct-07-17, 22:11
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garydogwoo garydogwoo is offline
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Posts: 109
 
Plan: restrict carbs
Stats: 210/170/160 Male 66 inches
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Progress: 80%
Location: North Texas
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so, i guess all the purchasers in the class action suit will receive one dollar and sixty seven cents (a la The Jerk's opti-grab).
gw
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