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Update:
- An Illinois federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit that claimed customers who bought Brach’s Milk Maid caramel candies were tricked because the candies don’t contain milk fats that are allegedly expected in caramel.
- On March 20, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman filed an order dismissing the Ferrara Candy Co. lawsuit filed by plaintiff Jessica Biczo.
- Judge Coleman says Biczo’s lawsuit fails to allege any misrepresentations on the product’s packaging, adding that her “analytical jump — that ‘made with milk’ must mean ‘made with milk fat’ — is her own interpretation, and she has not shown that the reasonable consumer would be misled by this labeling.”
- Biczo alleged representations that the caramel was “Made With Real Milk” caused consumers to expect at least some amount of milk fat yet the caramel was made exclusively with vegetable fat.
Brach’s milk fat class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A caramel candy consumer is suing Ferrara Candy Co. over its Brach’s Milk Maid caramels.
- Why: The plaintiff says the caramel candies should not be marketed as caramel as they contain too many vegetable fats.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in an Illinois federal court.
(April 19, 2022)
Customers who bought Brach’s Milk Maid caramel candies have been tricked because the candies do not contain any of the milk fats expected in a real caramel, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Jessica Biczo filed the class action complaint against Ferrara Candy Co. on April 16 in an Illinois federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer law.
Her complaint relates to Ferrara Candy Co.’s marketing of its caramel candy, which is represented as “Made with Real Milk” and “Rich and Creamy” with a pitcher of milk under the Brach’s Milk Maid brand.
According to her complaint, over the past 10 years, caramel has been one of the fastest-growing confectionery categories with value sales increasing by 5% per year.
During this period, Ferrara began marketing its caramels as “Made With Real Milk,” which causes consumers to expect at least some amount of milk fat, Biczo says.
“However, the representations are false, deceptive and misleading because the fat content is exclusively from vegetable fat,” the Brach’s class action states.
Brach’s caramels made on the cheap, class action alleges
Biczo turned to multiple dictionary definitions of caramel in her lawsuit, each of which references dairy fats from milk, butter or both.
She says the substitution of milk fat with vegetable fats reduces cost but results in a product that provides less satiety.
Instead of being “Made with Real Milk,” the fat content in the caramels is entirely from vegetable fat in the form of “Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil,” the third most predominant ingredient, Biczo says.
The lawsuit claims Ferrara sold more of the product and at higher prices than it would have if it had been honest, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers.
Biczo is looking to represent anyone in Illinois who bought the product plus a consumer fraud multistate class for customers from Arkansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia, Utah, Idaho, Alaska and Montana.
She’s suing under Illinois consumer law and for breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and unjust enrichment. She’s seeking certification of the class action lawsuit, an injunction, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
The news comes after Ferrara was hit with a class action lawsuit in March alleging its Nips caramel candies do not contain enough milk fat to legally be marketed as “caramel.”
Would you expect there to be a certain amount of fats from milk or cream in a caramel? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.
The Ferrara class action lawsuit is Jessice Biczo, et al. v. Ferrara Candy Co., Case No. 1:22-cv-01967, in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.
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68 thoughts onBrach’s class action over false caramel advertising dismissed
Add me please!
I am so sick of being deceived! I buy this product believing that it’s real carmal if it’s not I should not be paying the cost of real carmal. Please add me.
When a food product is made with skim milk, aka nonfat milk, aka fat free milk, but claims to be “made with milk”, and especially a claim of “made with REAL milk”, to me that is a false claim. Milk is defined by federal and state law as a product that includes a minimum of 3.25% milkfat. A blend of skim milk and vegetable oil was designated in federal law as “filled milk” and its sale was prohibited. A Supreme Court decision in 1938 (U.S. v. Carolene Products Company) ruled that the prohibition was unconstitutional, and the product could be sold as long as it was properly labeled. The incentive to use skim milk and vegetable oil rather than real “milk” is driven by economics as real milk is more costly. This is not only unfair to consumers, but also unfair to dairy farmers. One would hope that the FDA would enforce the provision in the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act that reads “a food is deemed to be misbranded if its labeling is false or misleading in ANY particular.” Most states have an identical provision, but they rarely enforce their law either.
I have had the caramels. Please add me!
please add me
I have purchased Carmels to add to brownie mix. They did not taste the same as real carmel. I have made carmel sauce from scratch and there is such a difference.
Of course Carmel has to have milk fat to be considered real Carmel! I just made a batch 4 days ago and of course I used butter and heavy whipping creme in mine. Anything less is just melted sugar.
Please add me to the list