US spice maker Watkins Inc has added black peppercorn grinders to its lawsuit against McCormick & Co that alleges the flavours giant "slack fills" its pepper tins.

According to Watkins, McCormick has reduced the contents of its tins by 25% and grinders by approximately 20%, in violation of federal "slack fill" prohibitions. The company initially filed a lawsuit against McCormick at the beginning of this month. Watkins claims McCormick is attempting to "deceive and confuse retailers and their customers" by trying to make the tins and grinders look like they contain more than they do.

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Watkins' CEO Mark Jacobs said: "If McCormick is permitted to blatantly violate the slack fill regulations which are designed to protect the consumer and keep the competitive marketplace fair, what's next?…selling an 8 ounce container with 1 ounce in it and then telling the consumers they should read the labels more carefully?"

McCormick has said it believes the suit is not justified and insisted that it will defend itself "vigorously."

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