The makers of Budweiser faced accusations on Tuesday of watering down the lager in search of higher profits, in a class action lawsuit rejected by the brewery.
The beer-drinking plaintiffs alleged that Anheuser-Busch is violating consumer protection laws in California and Missouri by “falsely representing the alcohol content of the products it sells.”
The lawsuit, which demands unspecified “compensatory damages” for anyone in the US who has bought Budweiser products in the past five years, was filed in US District Court in San Francisco on Friday.
“I think it’s wrong for huge corporations to lie to their loyal customers,” one of the plaintiffs, Nina Giampaoli, said in a press release on Tuesday from the Mills Law Firm, one of two firms involved in the lawsuit. “I really feel cheated. No matter what the product is, people should be able to rely on the information companies put on their labels.”
From its headquarters in Saint Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch rejected the allegations.
“The claims against Anheuser-Busch are completely false and these lawsuits are groundless. Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws,” said Peter Kraemer, its vice president of brewing and supply.
The lawsuit alleges that Anheuser-Busch can produce “a significantly higher number of units of beer from the same starting batch of ingredients” by watering down its product.
“As a result, Anheuser-Busch’s customers are overcharged for watered-down beer and Anheuser-Busch is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell,” it says.
Besides Budweiser, which is marketed as “the King of Beers” with 5 percent alcohol by volume, the lawsuit alleges that Anheuser-Busch waters down nine other brands, including Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum and Michelob.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was