Velveeta Is Being Sued For $5 Million Over Its Mac And Cheese
All businesses have a legal obligation to use honest advertising to promote their products. Mistruths about a product's benefits or uses can land a company in hot water and potentially cost millions of dollars. That's precisely what happened to food manufacturer Dannon in 2010. According to ABC News, the company was forced to pay $45 million in damages due to supposedly false scientific claims about its yogurt.
The Kraft Heinz Company is another massive food manufacturer facing a pricey lawsuit based on alleged misinformation appearing on its labeling. However, this suit is not alleging something as serious as false claims regarding health benefits. Instead, the class-action suit alleges that labeling on the product misleads shoppers when it comes to length of preparation.
One of the many brands included in the Kraft family, Velveeta Shells & Cheese is a convenient comfort food. It's so convenient that the label even states the microwavable meal can be ready in 3 ½ minutes flat. But according to one Florida woman, this claim is an affront to those who hold convenience in high regard.
One woman's war against microwavable meals
ClassAction.org provides information on the Nov. 18 lawsuit against Kraft, which alleges the manufacturer hasn't been fully truthful when it comes to its microwavable mac and cheese cups.
At the heart of the legal action is Amanda Ramirez, who is described as a consumer looking for "bold statements of value when quickly selecting groceries." The suit also contains the cooking instructions listed on each cup, which includes peeling off the lid, pouring water into the cup, microwaving, and stirring in the accompanying cheese sauce packet. The overall complaint is that 3 ½ minutes only encompasses the microwave portion of the instructions and not the total prep time. For this transgression, the suit claims that more than $5 million in damages is owed to Ramirez and other members of the class-action suit, per The Washington Post.
The lawsuit is accounting for more than 100 consumers and thousands of retail locations currently selling the product. (And when it comes to financials, Kraft's net sales totaled $6.505 billion as of September, according to the Kraft Heinz site.) As for Kraft's response to the suit, the company was quoted by Kron4 as saying it was "aware of this frivolous lawsuit" and planned a solid defense against the claims.
Mac and cheese has long been a comfort food
Like so many beloved recipes, the origins of mac and cheese remain somewhat disputed. Smithsonian explains that the dish became popularized in the United States thanks to James Hemmings, an enslaved man who acted as chef for Thomas Jefferson. The dish remains an important piece of cultural cuisine for African-Americans, typically served at holidays such as Thanksgiving.
These days, along with homemade mac and cheese, which requires a lot more than 3 ½ minutes to prepare, there are also the (highly convenient) boxed versions. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Kraft's very first mac and cheese product appeared in 1937. It proved to be a huge hit with families still reeling from the Great Depression and would become invaluable when World War II started.
Velveeta Shells & Cheese, meanwhile didn't appear on store shelves until 1984, and Easy Mac cups arrived in 2006. While designed to provide a fast meal to people on the go, Kraft's microwave velveeta offering fell far short of one woman's expectations.