Goya Class Action Says Canned Octopus is Actually Squid

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A new class action lawsuit accuses Goya Foods Inc. of substituting cheaper jumbo squid in its canned octopus products.

Plaintiff Luis Diego Zapata Fonseca alleges Goya has been passing off jumbo squid as octopus in four of its canned seafood products. Compared to genuine octopus, jumbo squid is cheaper and in great supply but of lower quality, Fonseca says.

Octopus populations have dwindled, causing a rise in the price of octopus as a food product, according to the lawsuit. But jumbo squid populations remain abundant and less expensive, Fonseca alleges.

With a texture similar to that of octopus, jumbo squid can easily be substituted into Goya’s octopus products without arousing consumers’ suspicions, Fonseca argues. He believes Goya did exactly that to deceive consumers into paying more money for a lower quality product.

The products at issue in the Goya class action lawsuit are labeled octopus in garlic, octopus in hot sauce, octopus in olive oil, and octopus in pickled marinara sauce. Fonseca says that adding piquant seasonings and sauces helps conceal the alleged deception.

The plaintiff claims that he ordered these products from Amazon.com in reliance on the labels’ representation that they contained octopus. Fonseca says he never would have bought them had he known they actually contained giant squid.

Fonseca claims independent DNA testing confirmed the products are actually made of jumbo squid. Though it shares some physiological similarities with octopus, Fonseca says, jumbo squid is still a completely different species that cannot truthfully be labeled as octopus.

Yet, Fonseca says Goya’s packaging prominently labels the products as containing octopus. He claims the label on each box shows the word “Octopus” in large font. Nothing on the box indicates that the product contains any jumbo squid, he says.

Fonseca contends that Goya knew the products at issue contained jumbo squid but misrepresented them as octopus anyway. His Goya class action lawsuit raises claims based on legal theories of fraud, negligence, unjust enrichment, and breach of warranty. The lawsuit also alleges violations of California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

Earlier this year, Fonseca brought an almost identical class action lawsuit against Vigo Importing Company. As with the Goya products, Fonseca said DNA testing proved Vigo’s products labeled as octopus were actually jumbo squid.

Fonseca is proposing a nationwide plaintiff Class to encompass all persons who bought any of the four products, plus a subclass of such consumers who live in California. He anticipates the proposed Class Members could number in the millions.

He seeks an award of damages for himself and the proposed Class that he expects would likely exceed $5 million.

Plaintiff’s counsel are James P. Gitkin of Salpeter Gitkin LLP and L. Timothy Fisher of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Goya Octopus Mislabeling Class Action Lawsuit is Luis Diego Zapata Fonseca v. Goya Foods Inc., Case No. 5:16-cv-02559, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.