Kraft’s ‘100%’ Parmesan Cheese Contains Wood Chips, Class Action Says

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Kraft Heinz Food Co. faces a $5 million potential class action lawsuit over claims that its “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” contains nearly four percent filler that’s derived from wood chips.

Lead plaintiff Samantha Lewin says she filed the Kraft cheese class action lawsuit after spending $3.99 for a product she believed was accurately labeled as pure Parmesan, only to discover otherwise.

The Kraft class action lawsuit alleges that the “cheese” product was tested in an independent laboratory which found that 3.8 percent of the self-proclaimed “100%” Parmesan contained cellulose as well as an anti-clumping agent that is made from wood pulp.

Lewin states that she is not a sophisticated expert with knowledge of the development, composition and nature of Kraft Parmesan cheese and relied on the misleading label when making her purchase.

According to the Kraft lawsuit, the food manufacturer has been deceiving customers for years with different advertisements regarding its “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese.” In fact, the plaintiff points to various TV ads in the 1990s in which Kraft belittled competitors for using inferior fillers in their Parmesan cheese products.

Lewin says that Kraft is in breach of express warranty because its touted “100%” Parmesan cheese is substantially filled with cellulose and fillers.

The Kraft cheese class action lawsuit alleges potential Class Members suffered injury as a direct result of the breach of warranty because they would not have purchased the Parmesan product had they known “the true facts.” Lewin says she paid a premium for the Parmesan cheese even though it did not have the characteristics or qualities as promised.

This isn’t the first time that Kraft has faced lawsuits regarding the advertising of its cheese products. A recent class action lawsuit claimed the food maker used artificial ingredients in its “natural” fat-free cheddar cheese. The putative class action lawsuit is still pending in California federal court.

In addition, Heinz was hit with a class action lawsuit in January 2016 over allegations that its Heinz 57 sauce advertised as “manufactured in the U.S.A.” is actually made and/or contained components from outside of the United States. The plaintiff in the Heinz class action lawsuit claimed to have paid $6.29 for a bottle of the sauce because of its “Made in USA” claims.

If approved, the Kraft class action lawsuit would be open to all Class Members in the U.S. who purchased Kraft’s “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese.” Lewin would also like to represent a subclass of individuals who purchased the product in the State of California. 

The Kraft class action lawsuit is seeking financial compensation for Class Members as well as punitive damages and injunctive relief for a California subclass under California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

The plaintiff is represented by Scott A. Bursor, L. Timothy Fisher, Annick M. Persinger and Yeremey Krivoshey of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Kraft 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese Class Action Lawsuit is Lewin v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co., Case No. 3:16-cv-00823, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On June 2, 2016, The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has consolidated 16 class action lawsuits that allege the labeling and marketing of certain parmesan cheese products as “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” is false and misleading because the products allegedly contain cellulose as a filler.

UPDATE 2: On Nov. 1, 2018, a federal judge determined that only some of the allegations in a Kraft, Walmart parmesan cheese multidistrict litigationwill move forward.