Plastic pallet firm launches lawsuit over butter contamination allegations

Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS) said it has filed a lawsuit against the US National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) and its president - alleging statements suggesting that its pallets could be behind a recent butter contamination in the Dallas area were “false, malicious and defamatory”.​

False statements​

The company alleges the false statements were made in a NWPCA press release issued on 8 December, 2010, which referred to a study from the University of Texas that had discovered high levels of a flame retardant chemical, polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), in butter purchased in Texas.

In the release, the wooden pallet group named iGPS as “the leading company supplying plastic pallets to companies transporting and storing food​” and pointed out that its pallets contain a PDBE known as decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE).

The NWPCA noted the researchers speculated that the cause of the butter tainting was the packaging but added “given the high levels of PBDE used in the plastic pallets, they should be examined as the root source of transfer to the food”.​ It also called for further testing of food that is transported on plastic pallets.

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Damages sought​

iGPS has strongly refuted the NWPCA release and accused the body of using “an alleged food contamination that is unrelated to iGPS as an opportunity to deceive and mislead the public”.​

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In a complaint to the District Court of Dallas County, the company says that despite evidence to the contrary, the wooden pallet body “gives the overall impression that iGPS pallets are unsafe and may have been involved in the alleged contamination”.​

It further accuses the NWCPA president Bruce Scholnick of trying to falsely cause panic among consumers and food manufacturers when he says that “households around the country are baking butter-laden cookies and cakes”​, before asking “Are families eating flame-retardant cupcakes?”​

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The plastic pallet firm alleges that the NWPCA’s conduct has caused confusion among its customers and has “significantly damaged iGPS’ reputation, goodwill and future profits”. ​

It is seeking punitive damages and has called for an injunction against NWPCA forbidding it from issuing “false and deceptive”​ statements that iGPS’ pallets contaminate food or other erroneous data that may damage its business.