Keebler Fudge Is Fake, Class Action Lawsuit Says

A new class action against a popular cookie maker claims Keebler fudge is fraudulently sold and marketed. 

Lead plaintiff Sharon Pizarro says Keebler fudge is not real fudge because it isn’t made with traditional fudge ingredients.

Pizarro accuses Ferrara Candy Co., which makes Keebler fudge, of using cheaper ingredients in its Fudge Stripes cookies and charging a premium for the product.

She says she believed the packaging, which states the cookies are “made with real Keebler fudge.”  

Traditional fudge is made with three ingredients, Pizarro says in the complaint: milk, sugar and butter. 

A listing of ingredients on the Keebler Fudge Stripes cookies, according to the complaint, shows they contain none of those ingredients, but inferior substitutes. 

“The representation as being made with “real [Keebler] fudge” is false, deceptive and misleading because it lacks the ingredients essential to any fudge, let alone ‘real’ fudge,” Pizarro says in the class action lawsuit. 

Consumers have to look hard to find this information, Pizarro claims. The complaint describes how the ingredients for the Keebler Fudge Stripes cookies are not separated into their fudge and cookie components, leaving them obscured in a long list. 

Instead of milk, sugar and butter, the Keebler fudge is actually made from vegetable oil, invert syrup and whey, Pizarro says. The use of subpar ingredients “means the fudge provides less satiety, has a waxy and oily mouthfeel and leaves an aftertaste.”

She cites baking standards widely accepted when it comes to making fudge. In the complaint, she refers to a study conducted by the American Baker’s Association that showed half of consumers want “real” ingredients in their baked goods. 

She claims baking experts advise to never use substitutes for fudge. Although the complaint does not specifically refer to recipes for Keebler fudge, Pizarro says standard advice is never to use vegetable oils or margarine in lieu of butter. 

These oils, which are blends containing soybean, kernel and palm oils, have more water and keep the fudge from setting properly, according to the class action lawsuit. 

Whey, a cheaper ingredient than milk, lacks the milk fats needed to give fudge its creamy texture. Pizarro argues milk fats also are needed to support any claims Keebler fudge is “real.”

“Butter and milk are the epitome of ‘real’ ingredients since they are unprocessed and maintain their original form from the time they are produced until the time they are incorporated into other foods,” Pizarro says in the complaint. 

Pizarro’s class action lawsuit over Keebler fudge is one of several challenging ingredient authenticity in chocolate. 

In October 2020, Häagen-Dazs and Whole Foods were hit with claims the chocolate on their ice cream bars is made with vegetable oils instead of milk and butter. 

Earlier this month, the makers of Dove ice cream bars were served with a class action lawsuit over similar allegations that they use vegetable oils in their chocolate. 

Do you buy Keebler fudge cookies expecting them to be made with real fudge? Should chocolate and fudge makers be held accountable for claims about real fudge? Let us know why or why not in the comments below. 

Counsel representing the plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit are Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC and Abraham Kleinman of Kleinman LLC. 

The Keebler Fudge Class Action Lawsuit is Pizarro, et al. v. Ferrara Candy Co., Case No. 7:21-cv-00151, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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