Diner’s Choice Mashed Potatoes Contain Margarine, Class Action Says

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A class action lawsuit claims that Diner’s Choice mashed potatoes contain not only butter as advertised, but include margarine as well, deceiving customers.

Plaintiff Marilyn Reyes alleges that Crystal Farms Refrigerated Distribution Company, the company that produces the Diner’s Choice brand of packaged mashed potatoes, intentionally misleads customers by advertising and labeling the mashed potatoes as being made with “real butter,” when in reality, the product contains both butter and its synthetic counterpart, margarine.

According to Reyes, “no reasonable consumer would expect a mashed potatoes product which highlights ‘Made With REAL BUTTER’ in a golden seal, to contain the one product which is essentially the opposite of butter – margarine.” The Diner’s Choice class action lawsuit states that in recent years, consumers have shown a noted preference for foods that are “natural” and contain few or no artificial ingredients over those that are synthetic.

Margarine was developed in the late 19th century as a synthetic alternative to butter, produced with vegetable oil. In the 1980s, the product was popular because it was marketed as a low-fat, and thus a desirable alternative to butter.

Now, market trends show that consumers see natural foods as healthier than synthetic foods, so margarine has become less popular, and butter has become more popular with consumers. The Diner’s Choice false advertising class action lawsuit claims that Crystal Farms advertises the potatoes as “made with real butter” to attract customers based on their preference for butter over margarine.

Reyes alleges that she intentionally purchased Diner’s Choice mashed potatoes because she believed it to be a “natural” and thus healthier and more desirable product than a comparable product containing margarine. Thus, the fact that the product also contains margarine makes the product less valuable to her.

As a result, the mashed potatoes margarine class action lawsuit claims that Crystal Farms was unjustly enriched from the profits gained from marketing the potatoes as containing butter, while gaining the financial advantage of using margarine, a cheaper alternative to butter, as an ingredient in the product.

Reyes’ argument goes on to provide further support for her claim that consumers do not desire products that contain both butter and margarine, generally prefer one product over the other, and thus, do not typically purchase or eat butter or margarine together.

She states that an internet search for “mashed potatoes” and “butter or margarine” produced 171 results on the recipe website allrecipes.com, while searching for the word “mashed potatoes” and “butter and margarine” produced no results.

The plaintiff claims that this information is reflective of consumer perception and use of butter versus margarine. She goes on to argue that “when people purchase mashed potatoes, they assume it will have either butter or margarine, but not both.”

Reyes seeks damages for herself and similarly affected consumers, aiming to represent two Classes of consumers — one Class of consumers in New York, and another of consumers nationwide.

The plaintiff is represented by Joshua Levin-Epstein of Levin-Epstein & Associates PC and Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Diner’s Choice Butter and Margarine Mashed Potatoes Class Action Lawsuit is Marilyn Reyes v. Crystal Farms Refrigerated Distribution Company, Case No. 1:18-cv-02250, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.