Dietz and Watson Cheese Class Action Says Gouda Isn’t ‘Smoked’

Dietz and Watson cheese is not actually smoked gouda cheese, according to a recent class action lawsuit against the artisan cheese brand.

Dietz and Watson is an artisan cheese brand that sells a variety of cheeses including “smoked gouda” cheese. Unfortunately, Dietz and Watson cheese is allegedly not smoked and is instead flavored to taste that way.

Plaintiff Kisha Watson notes that artificial flavoring is becoming less desirable amongst everyday consumers. Instead, customers are starting to look for food products which are naturally flavored and are free of artificial flavorings. Watson references several surveys and trends, which found that between 62% and 76% of customers try to avoid artificial flavors.

“Consumers prefer foods which obtain their flavor through the presence of a characterizing food ingredient or a process that provides that flavor, i.e., strawberries in a strawberry shortcake or from being smoked in a smokehouse,” the Dietz and Watson cheese class action lawsuit argues.

In response to this growing trend, manufacturers are reportedly “dropping artificial flavors, coloring, preservatives and other additives with scary names and focusing more on natural, wholesome and fresh ingredients.”

However, not all manufacturers are approaching this new trend responsibly. Watson notes that flavoring is “one of the most important and expensive” ingredients in food manufacturing. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of natural flavoring, Watson says that manufacturers may try to take advantage of consumers by concealing their use of artificial flavors.

Watson claims that Dietz and Watson cheese products are misleadingly labeled to conceal the presence of added flavoring. Specifically, Watson takes issue with the company’s smoked gouda cheese which she says is not actually smoked.

Smoking is a form of food preparation in which a food item is cooked over various types of wood chips. The resulting product usually has a unique and powerful flavor which varies depending on the type of wood chips used in smoking. For example, smoking with hickory wood chips can reportedly give nuts, meats, and other foods a hearty yet sweet flavor.

However, Dietz and Watson cheese is not prepared using this renowned method, the plaintiff says. Instead, the ingredient list on the company’s smoked gouda cheese reveals that the cheese is flavored with “natural smoke flavoring.”

Despite being flavored with natural smoke flavoring, Dietz and Watson cheese packaging allegedly fails to disclose this fact.

The use of added flavoring is reportedly required to be displayed prominently on food packaging so that consumers are instantly aware of the presence of natural or artificial flavoring.

For example, an ice cream with artificial vanilla flavoring is reportedly supposed to be labeled as “Artificially Flavored Vanilla Ice Cream” instead of just “Vanilla Ice Cream.”

Similarly, because the Dietz and Watson cheese contains natural smoke flavoring, Watson argues that the packaging should read “Naturally Flavored Smoked Gouda Cheese” or “Smoked Gouda Cheese with Natural Flavors.”

However, Dietz and Watson cheese packaging is allegedly misleading because it lacks any type of flavoring disclosure.

“Since the Product designates its characterizing flavor as ‘smoke[d]’ without any qualifying terms – flavor, flavored, natural smoke flavor, artificial smoke flavored – consumers get the impression that its smoke taste from being smoked,” Watson argues in her Dietz and Watson cheese class action lawsuit

Watson says that she and other customers were deceived by Dietz and Watson cheese packaging. If the smoked gouda cheese had the presence of added flavoring disclosed, Watson and other would have allegedly paid less for the items or may not have purchased them at all.

As a result, consumers were reportedly injured by overpayment for the Dietz and Watson cheese. The smoked gouda cheese was allegedly sold for at least $3.79 for 7.6 ounce wedges but, due to the added flavor, is worth far less than this premium price.

“Plaintiff bought the Product at or exceeding the above-referenced prices because she liked the product for its intended use, expected its smoke flavor to come only from being smoked because that is what the label said, and did not expect to have to strain her eyes to read the ingredient list to learn the truth,” the Dietz and Watson cheese class action lawsuit contends.

Did you purchase Dietz and Watson cheese thinking that it was actually smoked gouda cheese? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Watson and the proposed Class are represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Dietz and Watson Smoked Gouda Cheese Class Action Lawsuit is Kisha Watson v. Dietz & Watzon Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-06550, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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