Tuna Companies Face Deceptive ‘Dolphin Safe’ Logo Suits

Bumble Bee LLC, StarKist LLC, and Nestle Purina Petcare Co. misled consumers by marketing their tuna products “dolphin safe,” a trio of new suits allege.

Bumble Bee and StarKist tuna and Nestle’s Fancy Feast tuna cat food attract socially conscious consumers with the logo, according to the proposed class suits.

The demand for dolphin safe fishing practices such as pole and line, or hand line catch methods, arose because of worldwide awareness that dolphins were being killed in tuna fishing nets, plaintiffs say.

Federal regulations require companies representing their tuna products as dolphin safe to ensure that no dolphins were ...