Customer Files Class Action Lawsuit Claiming Barilla “No Preservatives” Label is False

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A customer has filed a class action lawsuit claiming that Barilla falsely advertises its pasta sauces as containing “no preservatives,” when it really contains citric acid, which FDA names as a preservative.

Plaintiff Lukas Kubilius says that on Feb. 1, 2018, he purchased a 24 ox Barilla Tomato Basil Sauce from a Stop&Shop store in New York for $3.29. He said that he relied on the labeling to make his purchase, and selected the product in part over other products because it was advertised as containing no preservatives. However, he says that the product’s ingredient list lists citric acid, a well-known preservative.

Kubilius claims that had he known that the product contained a preservative, he would not have purchased it or would not have paid as much as he did for it. He claims that he was financially injured by his purchase because Barilla “delivered a product with significantly less value than was warranted by its representations, thereby depriving him of the benefit of his bargain and injuring him in an amount up to the purchase price.”

Kubilius goes on to argue that Barilla charged a premium price for the pasta sauce, labeled as preservative free, because they know consumers are willing to pay more for foods that they see as “natural” or “healthy.” He says that Barilla specifically included the “no preservatives” label because the company knew it would entice consumers on the lookout for healthy choices. 

To back up this claim, Kubilius cites marketing research from Mintel indicating that “food bearing ‘free-from’ claims are increasingly relevant to Americans, as they perceive the products as closely tied to health.” Kubilius says that 84 percent of Americans by “free-from” foods because they see them has healthier or more natural than foods with preservatives.

According to the Barilla pasta sauce preservatives class action lawsuit, Barilla “would not have included these representations on the product labels if this was not going to influence consumer behavior.”

Allegedly, Barilla knew or should have known that the pasta sauce contained preservatives because the company employees food scientists who understand the content of the foods and the company has an interest in FDA regulations and in what is legally determined to be a preservative.

The Barilla false labeling class action lawsuit notes that the FDCA determines that “a food shall be deemed misbranded…if its labeling is false or misleading in any particular,” saying that Kubilius’s claims are consistent with federal law, and consistent with FDA determinations of what is a preservative.

Kubilius seeks both statutory and compensatory damages on behalf of himself and all similarly affected consumers. He also seeks an order requiring Barilla to cease allegedly falsely advertising their pasta sauces.

Lukas Kubilius is represented by C.K. Lee of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Barilla Pasta Sauce Class False Advertising Action Lawsuit is Lukas Kubilius v. Barilla America Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-06656, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: On July 2, 2019, an Illinois federal judge trimmed claims in a class action lawsuit asserting that the “no preservatives” label on Barilla pasta sauces is misleading.