Cook County, IL - Lawsuit Against Maker of Hot Dogs

Cook County, IL - Three Cook County residents have filed suit against Vienna Beef, alleging that the company mislabeled hot dogs as "pure beef" when the products had a pork casing. 
The plaintiffs--Morris Gershengorin, Marina Smolyansky and Marina Bartashnik--suffered emotional distress after learning they had ingested the pork-intestine casing, according to the lawsuit.   

Each of the plaintiffs is described in the suit as "an observant Jew." They are seeking to bring the suit as a class action on behalf of others who have eaten the hot dogs. The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court seeks unspecified damages.  
Vienna's advertising does not claim the hot dogs are kosher but does use terms such as "all-beef hot dogs" and "pure beef franks," according to the suit.

Company officials have not yet reviewed the suit but stand behind their labeling, Vienna Beef spokeswoman Susan Stoga said. "The few products that we do have (with pork) are labeled as such," Stoga said.