The Sewing Mom

This is a sponsored guest post written by a Press Release on behalf of PBM Products. Post powered by Sponzai.

GORDONSVILLE, VA., December 2 , 2009—PBM Products, LLC, a leading infant formula company that supplies store-brand infant formulas to Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Kroger, Walgreens, and other retailers, has received a favorable jury verdict and a $13.5 million damages award in its false advertising lawsuit against Mead Johnson & Co., the operating subsidiary of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) (“Mead Johnson”), the makers of the national-brand Enfamil® LIPIL® Infant Formula. Mead Johnson is 83 percent-owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

PBM’s lawsuit claimed that Mead Johnson engaged in false and misleading campaigns against PBM’s competing store-brand of infant formulas, suggesting they do not provide the same nutrition as Mead Johnson’s brands. PBM’s store-brand infant formulas cost up to 50 percent less than Enfamil® LIPIL®. The $13.5 million in damages awarded by the jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of the largest damages awards ever for a false advertising case.

“This decision by a jury of the people confirms that Mead Johnson’s ads have been false in suggesting that there is a nutritional difference between our store-brand formula products and their products, when in fact the only major difference is price,” said PBM CEO Paul B. Manning. “Despite Mead Johnson’s scare tactics, parents are assured that PBM’s formula products are as high quality and nutritious as Mead Johnson’s.”

U.S. District Court Judge James R. Spencer issued his written rulings yesterday following the November 10^th jury verdict. Judge Spencer’s written rulings permanently enjoined Mead Johnson from making any false statements concerning PBM’s infant formula, including the claims Mead Johnson previously made in Enfamil advertising that “It may be tempting to try a less expensive store brand, but only Enfamil LIPIL is clinically proven to improve brain and eye development,” and “there are plenty of other ways to save on baby expenses without cutting back on nutrition.”  The Court also ordered Mead Johnson to retrieve from the public domain all advertising or promotional materials containing these or any other false claims about PBM’s store brand infant formula. 

The details of the decision and the complaint are posted online in full at:

· http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/Order_Laches.pdf

· http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/PBM_Complaint_MJ_III_LIPIL.pdf

The nutritional supplements under examination in the case are two fats, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid), which Mead Johnson calls “LIPIL®” solely for marketing purposes and touts as promoting infant brain and eye development. PBM’s claim focused on Mead Johnson’s direct mailing to more than 1.6 million parents of an alarming blurry picture of a child’s cartoon duck next to a clear picture of the same image which suggested that anything other than the Enfamil LIPIL® blend of ingredients is inferior and will result in poor eye and brain development. Other parts of the false advertising campaign consist of statements that only Enfamil LIPIL has been proven to confer visual and mental benefits on infants, and store-brand formulas are a “cut-back in nutrition” compared to Enfamil.

PBM successfully argued that these advertisements were false and misleading especially since PBM store- brand infant formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil. PBM infant formulas are formulated to contain DHA and ARA, and are sourced from the same supplier in amounts which equal or exceed the DHA and ARA in Mead Johnson’s Enfamil LIPIL®.

This decision marks the third time PBM Products has sued Mead Johnson for false advertising claims. On the prior occasions Mead Johnson admitted that it made false claims about PBM’s products. It is also the first false advertising case to focus on the issue of DHA and ARA nutritional ingredients in formula, which were introduced into the market in 2003 and have become a staple in recent years by many brands as key components for infant development.

“This jury verdict should send a significant and clear message to Mead Johnson about the way it conducts marketing and advertising for its brands,” said Manning. “This lawsuit also demonstrates our complete commitment to defending our products and the valuable brands of our retail partners.”

“As a parent and supporter of children’s medical research, I take a personal responsibility in assuring our customers that the products we produce are healthy and nutritionally equivalent to brand names like Enfamil® LIPIL®. It is important, especially now, for parents to know that there are lower priced yet highly nutritious store-brand formulas that will provide the same benefit to their children as any national brand name formula product,” Manning added.

The U.S. infant formula market is estimated at $3.4 billion and the global market is estimated at $7.9 billion.

All of PBM’s formulas, and for that matter all of U.S. infant formulas, are subject to the exacting standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pursuant to the Infant Formula Act of 1980. This legislation vested FDA with the authority to ensure that all infant formula products sold in the United States provide the necessary levels of identified nutrients required for the growth of healthy babies. For more information, visit this FDA link.

PBM Products was represented by the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP. Partners from the firm’s advertising practice, Harold P. Weinberger and Jonathan M. Wagner in New York, led the team.

About PBM

PBM is privately owned and based in Gordonsville, VA. PBM companies specialize in manufacturing, distributing, and marketing consumer food, nutritional, and pharmaceutical products. For more information, visit www.pbmproducts.com.

Enfamil® LIPIL® are registered trademarks of Mead Johnson & Co.

I apologize for my absence this week, I’ve been busy on the homefront. My daughter was out on Spring Break all week and I also was working extra hours to pick up some of the financial slack we’ve been feeling around here. My husband is still working, but sometimes it feels like it’s a day to day thing. I don’t want to be caught off guard if something should happen to his job (which I’m praying nothing will).

I do know many people who have indeed lost jobs and there are many companies out there that claim to help people in their job search, just be careful. As with any business, some are more reliable than others, so do your research. One company that is leading the way in executive recruiting and individual job searches is Lightship Research. They provide direct access to those who are trying to help you find your perfect job. They even go so far as to provide a FREE resume critique! The following is a testimonial for LIGHTSHIP RESEARCH.

“I lost my job as Vice President of Sales with a national technology firm and signed up for assistance with a career management firm that turned out to be terrible. I gave them $10K and they did nothing, not even return my calls. I called my lawyer and he got most of my money back and said that his neighbor had used a company called Lightship Research http://www.lightshipresearch.com. They charged less than a quarter of what the other company did and were accessible and they’re for me every step of the way. I even felt like the whole team were my friends and went through the same emotional ups and downs as I did through my job search. It took me 9 weeks and now I am the VP of Sales for a fast growing biometrics company. These are highly hard working and ethical people. I recommend them to everyone I talk to.” -M. Olson, PA

If you’re in need of help searching for a job, you may want to give them a try.

As you all know, I recently began a 7 week employee training course that would lead to a great work at home position as a reservation specialist for a major international hotel chain.  Today was the beginning of my fourth week, half way through, and I was both excited and nervous.  Then, the other shoe dropped.

At 1:00 today, the call center director came into our training classroom and informed us that, due to the current U.S. economy which is resulting in people not traveling, all training classes were being cancelled and as of today, we were no longer employed.  Yep, it sucks.

I’d write more, but that pretty much reflects how I’m feeling right now.  I guess it really was too good to be true.

My sister had this on her site at The Pond and tagged me. I think I would’ve shared it even if she hadn’t tagged me because I really do think it is important.

I don’t really talk much politics and I believe everyone has a right to their own opinion. However, everyone in the United States also has a right to vote. Please don’t tell me you’re one of those people that sits around complaining about the administration, or the economy, or the war, or anything else affecting our lives, but you don’t take advantage of your right to vote. Voting is so simple and yet, one of the most important events we can take part in. I don’t just vote in the big presidential elections, but I also vote in local elections that affect my daughter’s education, our property taxes, our utility bills, etc. and so should you.

This is a great video.

If the deadline in your state hasn’t all ready passed, I know it has here in Texas, please make sure to register to vote.

This post is directed to all the women out there, sorry men.

I never thought I would say this, but there is now something positive to come out of menstruation, specifically, the menstrual blood. The truth is, recent studies have shown that menstrual blood contains stem cells and these stem cells, if collected, have the potential to be life saving. For something so special to be found in something that has caused me such misery for the past 35 years, I am amazed.

C’elle menstrual blood cells have recently shown to have the potential to help in future treatments of heart disease, stroke, MS, diabetes, Parkinson’s and even Alzheimer’s. C’elle has patented technology with its easy to use collection kit. While I realize that stem cell research can be controversial, we’re talking about something that is naturally discharged from a woman’s body every month and in my mind, that is a completely non-controversial of utilizing potentially life saving stem cells.  Considering my own dad suffered from diabetes, as did his mom, it is something I may have to deal with as I get older.

To learn more about the science behind C’elle and to see a video of a C’elle Client Testimonial be sure to visit www.celle.com and, if interested, purchase a kit now to save $200 during their limited time offer.