Is cafeteria food bad or is it false advertising?
Dear CO-STAR:
I've got a question about our cafeterias. A lot of what they serve seems, well, substandard. And it feels like they say they're giving you one thing and you get another. Certainly on "steak night" we don't get very good steaks at all, even though they call them sirloins. Isn't that false advertising or something?
- Ken, Sophomore, Private College or University, California
Ken:
Strange enough this type of bait-and-switch (and let me apologize for using the word "bait" in the first paragraph of a column about cafeteria food - I assure you that the allusion to worms and chum and whatever else you could stick at the end of a hook is entirely unintentional) wouldn't fall under advertising laws. In California, and a number of other states, there are actually "truth in menu" laws. Who knew?
The basic premise of these laws is simple: if you say you're serving something then you better damned well serve it. So, for instance, you can't say "filet mignon" then slap a hamburger on the plate.
The actual statute in play in your state is called the Sherman Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law (section 110390 to be specific) and it says, "It is unlawful for any person to disseminate any false advertisement of any food, drug, device, or cosmetic. An advertisement is false if it is false or misleading in any particular."
Of course menus count as an "advertisement" for these purposes, and so do, I suppose, the little tags on your cafeteria's sneeze guards that say things like "chicken nuggets" (Are they actually nuggets?) and "sloppy Joes" (How sloppy are they, really and was Joe actually involved?).
So technically, yes, if your cafeteria is saying one thing, then serving another they're in violation of the law.
I've got to tell you, though, Ken. I'd bet pretty good money that, even if a thorough investigation were held, your cafeteria would come out on the right side of the law. Oh, trust me, I whole-heartedly believe you when you say that the food you get served is, well, crap. I spend a lot of time on college campuses, so I know.
But there's a big difference between bad food and false advertising. And I'm betting those in charge of your cafe understand that difference and steer clear.
Still, if you think you're on to something, investigate a bit yourself. Smuggle one of those suspicious sirloins out and take it to a local butcher. Maybe they are passing off rump roast as tenderloin.
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C.L. Lindsay III is the founding executive director of CO-STAR, the Coalition for Student & Academic Rights, and author of the book "The College Student's Guide to the Law: Get a Grade Changed, Keep Your Stuff Private, Throw a Police-Free Party and More!" in bookstores now. CO-STAR is a network of lawyers, professors and students who work to protect academic freedom and constitutional rights at college campuses nationwide. If you have a question for CO-STAR, log on to their Web site at www.co-star.org.
The material in this column addresses general legal issues only; is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such; and may or may not be appropriate to a specific situation. Laws and procedures change frequently and are subject to differing interpretations. This column is not intended to create, and does not create, a lawyer-client relationship and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.
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© 2007, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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