Brach’s class action over false caramel advertising dismissed

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

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.

---

---

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Ferrero Recalls Kinder Chocolate Products Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination
• Stokke Recalls More Than 800 Clikk High Chairs After 6 Seats Break, 2 Kids Hurt
• Best Brands Recalls Kids’ Hand Sanitizers Due to Cancer-Causing Benzene, Methanol
• SOUNDBOKS Recalls Bluetooth Speakers Over Fire Risk Linked To Lithium Ion Battery