Dove Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Bars Made with Oil, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

A New York man says milk chocolate ice cream bars sold under the Dove brand contain an unexpected and unwanted ingredient — vegetable oil.

Lead plaintiff Steven Beers says the ice cream treat’s packaging features images of chunks of chocolate, as well as a bar being dipped in liquid chocolate. These representations mislead consumers into thinking the product is made with cocoa butter, the complaint claims.

Dove Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Bars, manufactured by Mars Wrigley, are deceptively sold to consumers, says Beers, who claims he would not have purchased or paid as much for the product had he known it contained vegetable oil.

“The unqualified, prominent and conspicuous representations of the Product as ‘Milk Chocolate’ is false, deceptive and misleading because the ‘chocolate’ portion of the ice cream bar contains ingredients consumers do not expect in chocolate — vegetable oil,” the class action lawsuit contends.

According to the complaint, cocoa butter is a more desirable ingredient than the vegetable oil used in Dove milk chocolate ice cream bars. Cocoa butter, the plaintiff says, provides consumers greater satisfaction and a smoother mouthfeel.

In addition, vegetable oil leaves an after taste, the plaintiff claims, which consumers try to avoid by buying chocolate products they believe are made with cocoa butter.

“Cocoa butter makes up about one-fourth of chocolate but costs more than three times as much as vegetable oil,” the class action lawsuit points out. “However, the taste of chocolate only from cacao beans is significantly different than when made from cacao beans and vegetable oils, since even a small amount of vegetable oil changes the mouthfeel from creamy and smooth to waxy and oily.”

In addition to seeking a better-tasting milk chocolate product, the plaintiff says, consumers purchase products they believe are made with real cocoa because of studies linking the ingredient to health benefits.

Further, vegetable oil has been linked to harmful health effects, specifically trans fats, the class action lawsuit alleges, making consumers want to avoid it.

According to the complaint, food manufacturers like Mars Wrigley have been blending chocolate made with real cocoa butter and vegetable oil to make “dirty chocolate” products more cheaply. Manufacturers then use deceptive labeling to dupe consumers into thinking they are purchasing real chocolate products, the plaintiff says.

This is not the first class action lawsuit to allege a food manufacturer used vegetable oil in place of more desirable ingredients in their products.

The makers of Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars have also been accused of using vegetable oil in place of cocoa fat in their chocolate-dipped treat. Pepperidge Farm has also allegedly used vegetable oil in its so-called butter crackers.

The plaintiff in the Dove class action lawsuit seeks to represent other consumers who purchased Dove Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Bars under the impression they were made only with cocoa butter.

Have you purchased Dove Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Bars? Are you surprised that they are made with vegetable oil? Tell us your experience in the comment section below.

The lead plaintiff, Steven Beers, and proposed Class Members are represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Dove Milk Chocolate False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Steven Beers v. Mars Wrigley Confectionery US LLC, Case No. 7:21-cv-00002, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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