Although this story is unique in and of itself, more interesting is what it brought to light: there are actually federal guidelines in place for what constitutes a “stew.” The USDA outlines the official government recipe for beef stew with language that seems better suited for a Monty Python sketch. “The beef stew shall contain beef, potatoes, peas, carrots, modified food starch, spices, and water…The beef stew shall be composed of: 20.0 to 30.0 percent potatoes, 8.0 to 14.0 percent carrots, and at least 3.0 percent peas,” according to the department’s regulations.

That leaves about 30 to 50 percent reserved for beef, 75 percent of which must be “diced.”

At the heart of the case is Campbell’s new “Chunky Fully Loaded” line of soups. Hormel believes that there is not enough beef in Campbell’s “Chunky Fully Loaded Beef Stew” to constitute being labeled stew. Although Campbell does print “soup” on the label of the can, Hormel believes that it’s hidden and not likely to be read. Apparently they fear that some consumers will think they’re eating stew when in reality they will in fact be eating soup.

Julie Craven, spokesperson for Hormel, had this to say:

“[The U.S. Department of Agriculture] has standards that determine what products can be labeled as ‘stew,’ and the Campbell Soup product does not meet this standard. This is important because consumers rely on food product labels to be accurate.”