Pillsbury Class Action Says Milk Chocolate Frosting is Mislabeled

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.

Pillsbury’s Creamy Supreme Milk Chocolate frosting doesn’t contain a trace of milk, according to a recently filed class action lawsuit.

Lead plaintiff Bernice Ocasio of Florida says she relied on the label when making the decision to buy Pillsbury frosting manufactured by The J.M. Smucker Company. Ocasio claims that Pillsbury is one of “America’s most trusted brands,” so naturally when she read the label that stated the flavor was “milk chocolate” she believed milk would be one of the ingredients.

It wasn’t until after making her purchase that Ocasio says found out that the frosting contained cheaper ingredients including palm oil and corn syrup instead of milk.

The Pillsbury class action lawsuit states that Smucker is required by law to inform customers when a product is artificially flavored but instead the manufacturer chose to conceal this information. Ocasio believes that Smucker tried to deceive customers into believing that the frosting was made with quality ingredients when compared to competing milk chocolate frosting products.

According to the lawsuit, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines “misleading” as a term of art, meaning that misbranding a product could include claims that might be “technically true” but are still misleading.

Ocasio says that Smucker continues to ignore food labeling laws by representing that the frosting contains milk and failing to inform customers that it actually is artificially flavored.

“To appeal to consumer preferences for real milk flavors, Defendant has repeatedly made false and unlawful claims regarding the milk content of its Frosting,” the lawsuit states. “The Product does not contain a trace of milk that would, e.g., require disclosure as an allergen.”

The Smucker class action lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff paid an unwarranted premium for a product that contained inferior ingredients. Ocasio says she wouldn’t have purchased the Pillsbury frosting had she known that it didn’t contain milk.

According to the frosting lawsuit, misbranded food cannot be legally sold because it has no economic value. The plaintiff alleges that the defendant violated Florida’s Deceptive And Unfair Trade Practices Act by misbranding the frosting and charging a premium for it.

In addition, the lawsuit claims that Smucker is liable for unjust enrichment because it “retain(s) the profits, benefits, compensation, consideration and other monies obtained by and from its wrongful conduct in promoting, marketing, distributing, and selling its Frosting.”

If approved the Pillsbury false labeling class action lawsuit would be open to all Class Members in the State of Florida who bought Creamy Supreme® Milk Chocolate frosting.

Ocasio is represented by Nathan C. Zipperian, Scott R. Shepherd, and James C. Shah of Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLP.

The Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Milk Chocolate Frosting Class Action Lawsuit is Bernice Ocasio, et al. v. The J.M. Smucker Company, Case No. 9:16-CV-80359-DMM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.