I bought a new brand of peanut butter today and when I got it home I was checking the label to see if it required refrigeration after opening. I didn't think that it would, but I figured it would be best to check. It didn't say anything about refrigeration, but the ingredients label was interesting. The label listed all of the ingredients beginning with roasted peanuts. Then at the bottom in bold warning type letters it says CONTAINS: PEANUTS.
Now I know that some people have a serious allergic reaction to peanuts. I feel for them. I also understand the over abundance of litigation in this county, but I still have to wonder if it is necessary to warn people that PEANUT butter contains peanuts. Is there some sort of peanut butter that is made out of something other than peanuts? Have people purchased peanut butter only to be surprised that it contained peanuts?
Labeling is pretty much controlled by regulation and lawyers these days. Having to state the obvious is stupid, but if they don't announce that peanut butter has PEANUTS in it, some dipshit will get sick, hire a lawyer, then it's all about settling the case out of court for a princely sum.
I see and incur this kind of thing all the time in my job. You wouldn't believe the sheer number of idiots who misuse products, yet somehow think they've got a legitimate court case. The really bizarre thing is, quite often their strategy works. They get paid $5-10K, the lawyer cleans up half of that, then they go look for their next victim.
