Kraft Foods and Sara Lee have declared a ceasefire in their legal battle over claims about each other’s hot dogs.
The legal battle, dubbed “wiener wars” by the US judge who oversaw the trial, dates back to 2009, when Sara Lee filed a hot dog lawsuit against Kraft’s Oscar Mayer business. Sara Lee alleged the unit falsely claimed that its Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Franks had a superior taste to Sara Lee’s Ball Park branded hotdogs.
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Kraft responded with a counter-claim of its own, contending that Ball Park had gone too far in declaring itself “America’s Best” and boasting about its “all-beef” hot dogs.
However, a spokesman from Kraft said today (9 September): “The case has been settled. While the exact terms are confidential, I can tell you that neither party paid any money to the other as part of the settlement and neither party has changed its current marketing practices as a result of the settlement.
“In addition, I also want to add that as we have said since 2009, the proper place to try a hot dog in August is always at a cook-out, not in the court room.”
A spokesman for Sara Lee also declined to disclose the terms of the accord but said: “Sara Lee is pleased with the outcome and looks forward to continuing to produce its leading hot dog brand, Ball Park.”
