Pasta manufacturer Barilla is facing allegations of false advertising in a class-action lawsuit coming out of California, and a judge just denied the company’s motion for dismissal.
The brand has long touted: “Italy’s #1 brand of pasta,” along with depictions of the country’s flag on its boxes. However, even on its own website, it admits, “Pasta that is sold in the United States is made in our plants in Ames, IA and Avon, NY, with a few exceptions. Barilla Tortellini and Barilla Oven Ready Lasagne are made in Italy.”
“Consumers seek out products that look or sound like they are from Italy because Italian products have a better reputation, and, as such, consumers willingly pay more for Italian sounding and/or looking products,” the plaintiffs’ complaint reads. “Defendant sought to take advantage of consumers’ desire for authentic Italian pasta, while cutting costs and reaping the financial benefits of manufacturing the products in the United States of America. Defendant has done so at the expense of unwitting consumers, as well as defendant’s lawfully acting competitors.”
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Judge Donna Ryu of the U.S. District Court of Northern California allowed for the suit to proceed but denied the plaintiffs their motion for injunctive relief, which could have prohibited Barilla from selling its pasta with this claim still on the box. Instead, the judge suggested the plaintiffs can simply stop purchasing the pasta to reduce “harm.” Barilla had filed to dismiss the suit, citing King’s Hawaiian rolls as an example of a brand that utilizes a location’s culture despite not being manufactured there.
But these “labels at issue in [the King’s Hawaiian rolls case] did not explicitly connect their origin to the present day,” Ryu wrote. “Nor did the labels exist against the backdrop of a long-standing marketing strategy expressly connected to a particular geographic location.”
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Texas Pete hot sauce is facing a similar lawsuit for allegedly falsely advertising that it is made in Texas and in a Texas style.
