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Four New York consumers have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the maker of Barilla pasta, claiming the company deceptively under-fills boxes of certain pasta products.
Plaintiffs Alessandro Berni, Giuseppe Santochirico, Domenico Salvati, and Massimo Simioli claim that Barilla substantially under-fills the boxes of its brands marketed as healthier options and are labeled as “Gluten Free,” “Whole Grain,” “ProteinPLUS,” and “White Fiber,” among others.
According to the complaint, Barilla packages these specialized pastas in what appears to be the same-sized boxes as its iconic blue box standard pasta products.
For example, the standard “enriched macaroni product” version of elbow pasta is sold one-pound (454 grams) per box. However, ProteinPLUS elbows are sold 14.5 ounces (411 grams) per box and the Whole Grain elbows are sold 13.2 ounces (375 grams) per box.
The plaintiffs allege that Barilla continues to sell all three types of elbow pasta in boxes that appear to be the same size when displayed on the shelf of a supermarket and contend that Barilla also uses this deceptive practice when selling other shapes of pasta such as spaghetti, penne, and shells.
Berni says that on at least one occasion in 2016, he purchased a 12-ounce (340 gram) of Gluten Free penne and other Barilla Whole Grain pastas.
The plaintiff claims he had a reasonable expectation that these boxes were full of pasta and was unaware that, in fact, the Gluten Free pasta contained approximately 25 percent less pasta and the Whole Grain pasta contained 17 percent less than they were allegedly designed to hold.
Similarly, plaintiffs Salvati, Simioli, and Santochirico assert that as a result of Barilla’s deceptive packaging, they were overcharged.
“By using the traditional-sized boxes that have been recognized in the consumer marketplace for many years, but under-filling them, Barilla deceptively misleads consumers into thinking that they are purchasing the same quantities of pasta as they had historically when they purchased the standard ‘enriched macaroni product’ version,” the Barilla class action lawsuit states.
While the Barilla lawsuit concedes that the boxes do identify the new reduced net weight in small print at the bottom of the box, consumers are not otherwise informed of this material change in the quantity of pasta inside or that the boxes are substantially underfilled, with Barilla unfairly capitalizing on the market for health-conscious products, the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs are bringing claims of violation of New York food misbranding laws and are seeking to represent a Class of consumers who purchased Barilla “Gluten Free,” “Whole Grain,” “ProteinPLUS,” and “White Fiber” pastas for personal, family, or household use and were misled by Barilla’s deceptive practice of underfilling pasta boxes.
The plaintiffs are represented by Robert I. Harwood, Daniella Quitt, and Benjamin I. Sachs-Michaels of Harwood Feffer LLP; Ronen Sarraf and Joseph Gentile of Sarraf Gentile LLP.
The Barilla Deceptive Pasta Packaging Class Action Lawsuit is Alessandro Berni, et al. v. Barilla S.p.A., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-04196, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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83 thoughts onBarilla Class Action Claims Pasta Boxes Are Deceptively Underfilled
Barilla is not the only one that reduced the product amount and kept the box the same size. Cookies, cake mixes, diapers, women’s feminine products, etc. Good luck with the law suit.
By the way similar Ronzoni macaroni products do the same. I just purchased whole wheat pasta that had 33% free which brought the weight up to 16 oz. I thought I was getting a bargain at $1 a box….
You’re correct. The deception is nothing new. It all started with Dannon reducing the size of their yogurt from 8 oz to 6 – then it went on to the half gallon ice creams. Its been downhill since. Companies will change the shape of the packaging and hope gullible consumers won’t notice they are getting less – like concave bottoms or indents on the top rim and bottom rim of jars and cans.
With this particular lawsuit, I’m thinking the plaintiffs have an axe to grind with Barilla – maybe they work for competitors – maybe its mafia (Salvati, Simioli, and Santochirico)
Ditto to comments above. So glad to see this. I have to wondeted for a long time.
Following to file lawsuit. Slot of products are only half filled. Hope to get my money back from at least one of them.
i buy these thinking a full box but when i opened and got ready cook found out i was cheated ! it barely fed my kids they could not even get seconds and mom is on a fixed income ! wth i have to buy two or three boxes !
I buy all kinds of this brand pastas. This is disappointing.
I have found this very true with many gluten free items. I purchase this pasta often and it’s not nearly enough to feed three people.
Alot of companies do this ! I have bought these just the other day. Always buy these
I only buy Barilla, I will be checking and if so I will start my own lawsuit.
You would do better to join the existing class action suit during the enrollment period, as it is unlikely any additional suits will make it to court.
where do we apply
I’ve used this pasta as well and have found that in many of my dishes they are very different in size and portion.
Um, isn’t it our job as consumers to read the weight on the packages? And we all know any “specialty” item will cost more.
That’s what I was thinking. I’m sure the weight is clearly displayed on the package. Many times stores even calculate the cost per unit of measure. Cheated? Give me a break! Read the label next time.
God whats next
I can not beleive that a big chain could make there boxes smaller alot of greed going on. I would like to get in on this lawsuit .Let me know.