Company was accused of packaging violations
(Woodland, CA) – June 26, 2015 – Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced today that The Proctor and Gamble Company, will pay $850,000 to settle a consumer-protection action brought by prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Offices of Yolo, Fresno, Shasta and Riverside counties.
The prosecutors alleged that packages of Proctor and Gamble’s products contained excessive non-functional “slack fill” in violation of California law. Slack fill is the use of oversized packaging to make it appear that the package contains more product than is actually in it.
After being advised of the allegations, Proctor and Gamble launched a review of its products and has committed to changing the packaging of its entire Olay product line.
Under the terms of the settlement, and without admitting any wrongdoing, Proctor and Gamble agreed to pay $850,000 in civil penalties and costs. Included in that total, each of the four DA’s Offices will receive $194,000 in civil penalties and $12,000 for costs which will be used to fund other consumer cases and investigations.
District Attorney Reisig praised the settlement. “Our office remains vigilant and committed to consumer protection and to ensuring that consumers are not misled in their purchases by misrepresentations and false advertising,” said Reisig. “We are gratified that Proctor and Gamble recognized the issue, and is committed to changing its packaging.”
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