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A federal lawsuit filed against Camden-based Campbell Soup Co. and the American Heart Association claims the Campbell soup varieties stamped with a "Heart-Check Mark" contain amounts of sodium far above the AHA's low-sodium threshold.

(AP file photo)

Consumers who buy soup and other foods stamped with a "Heart-Check Mark" can assume the products have been "certified to meet the American Heart Association’s guidelines for a heart-healthy food," the nonprofit organization states on its website.

But a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Camden against the American Heart Association and Campbell Soup Co. alleges the organization fraudulently certifies the soups, claiming they are far less heart-healthy than the AHA would otherwise advise. It also contends the Heart-Check Mark logo is available to food manufacturers that are willing to pay a fee.

The 50-page lawsuit claims that a serving of Campbell’s Heart-Check Mark-certified soup "contains nearly three times the amount of sodium permitted by the AHA’s non-commercial nutritional guidelines, while a full can contains between six and seven times that amount."

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, is being brought by Kerry O’Shea, an Orange County, Calif. resident.

O’Shea purchased 15 varieties of Campbell's soups over a four-year period ending in March, including "uncondensed sirloin burger with country vegetables," and "Italian-style wedding."

All the soups she purchased were emblazoned with the AHA’s Heart-Check Mark, a badge-like logo that reads, "American Heart Association Certified: Meets Criteria for Heart-Healthy Food." Beneath it is a red heart split by a white check mark.

The suit contends none of those certified soups meets AHA’s nutrition standard for sodium content. The Campbell's soups that O’Shea bought contain 410 milligrams of sodium per serving, far above the AHA’s low-sodium threshold of 140 milligrams of sodium per serving, according to the suit.

Every can of Campbell's soup contains complete nutritional information on the back, where consumers can peruse the sodium, fat and calorie content.

Plaintiff’s attorney Lindsey Taylor said it doesn’t matter and that consumers believe the Heart-Check Mark comes from a trusted source.

"Hey, it’s the American Heart Association. They’re not going to put their stamp of approval on something that’s bad for the heart, are they?" Taylor said Wednesday from the Roseland law office where he works.

A representative for Camden-based Campbell Soup Co. said it would not comment because it had not been served with the lawsuit.

In a statement, the American Heart Association would not directly address the lawsuit, but said its food certification program "regularly conducts laboratory testing to verify that products earning the Heart Check meet our nutritional criteria, which are more stringent than those of the Food and Drug Administration."

It added that food manufacturers pay an administrative fee that pays for the program’s product testing, public information and program operating expenses. "If a food product does not meet our criteria, it does not receive our Heart Check certification," the statement said.

The lawsuit is similar to one filed in 2010 by five New Jersey women against Campbell, claiming its "low-sodium" tomato soup contained essentially the same amount of sodium as its regular variety. The suit was settled in November 2011, with Campbell agreeing to pay $22,500 to the plaintiffs, and $625,000 to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, according to the settlement agreement.

But the lawsuit O’Shea filed this week contends it is about more than mislabeling.

"This case is not only about AHA’s willingness to mislead consumers for a fee; it is also about the manufacturers who are willing to pay that fee, and funnel other monies to the AHA, in furtherance of schemes to prey upon consumer demand for products that are legitimately healthy," the lawsuit states.

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