The Food Fling

Sara Lee Corp. (SLE) sued larger peer Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), alleging that the company’s advertisements for Oscar Mayer hot dogs were defaming its entire line of Ball Park franks.

Downers Grove-based Sara Lee filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Wednesday. It said Kraft Foods was running an ad since late April claiming that the Northfield-based company’s Oscar Mayer wieners tasted better than "the leading beef franks" of rivals.

While the ad implies the national taste test brought Oscar ayer victory over the entire line of Ball Park franks, Sara Lee said the test had used one sample each of Ball Park beef frank product and ConAgra Foods Inc.’s (CAG) Hebrew National frank.

Sara Lee also said Kraft’s assertion that Oscar Mayer hot dogs are "100 percent pure beef" is false and misleading to consumers as they contain a host of other ingredients. Though Sara Lee demanded the untrue claims to be withdrawn, Kraft Foods spokeswoman Syd Lindner said, "We stand by our reputation for accurate advertising to our consumers."

Earlier the same day, Kraft’s giveaway campaign in USA Today read, "Today only, taste the beef dog that beat Ball Park and Hebrew National -- for free." Even while cash-strapped consumers struggle in the worst slowdown in decades, Ball Park and Oscar Mayer each claim to be the nation's No. 1 hot dog-maker.

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