Chef Boyardee Maker Hit With False Advertising Class Action

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ConAgra Foods Inc. faces a putative class action lawsuit over allegations that the manufacturer of Chef Boyardee products participated in an exhaustive false advertising campaign to try to convince customers that their canned and packaged food is preservative-free when it actually contains citric acid.

Lead plaintiff Carol Cruz-Acevedo of Puerto Rico filed the class action lawsuit against ConAgra on Sunday alleging that the “no preservatives” claim that is displayed on each and every Chef Boyardee food product deceptively misrepresents the items.

According to the Chef Boyardee false advertising class action lawsuit, Cruz-Acevedo relied on the preservative-free marketing that was on the front and center of food labels including: macaroni & cheese, spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, mini bites pasta, whole grain pasta, fun flavor pasta, pizza and sauces.

Cruz-Acevedo states that the “visual representations, combined with an image featuring freshly cooked foods, imply that the products are nothing but freshly cooked pasta.” However, the plaintiff alleges that one of the ingredients is in fact a known synthetic preservative.

The ConAgra class action lawsuit claims that “citric acid” is a non-natural, chemical ingredient that is manufactured by fermenting genetically altered strains of the black mold fungus. Cruz-Acevedo states that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has loosely defined the term “no preservatives” as a product that “does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.”

She alleges that by branding Chef Boyardee products as preservative-free, ConAgra has violated the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) which states that food shall be deemed misbranded if its label is false or misleading. Cruz-Acevedo further alleges that “misbranding reaches not only false claims, but also those claims that might be technically true, although still misleading.”

The Chef Boyardee misleading label class action lawsuit claims that customers are likely to believe that based on the packaging images and wording that Chef Boyardee products are as “fresh today as when cooked by the chef in his restaurant.” Cruz-Acevedo states that had she known that Chef Boyardee products contained citric acid she never would have purchased the food items.

Cruz-Acevedo is seeking more than $5 million for unfair business acts, violation of the FDCA, false advertising and unjust enrichment. The Chef Boyardee class action lawsuit also seeks a court order that would require manufacturer ConAgra to be disgorged of all ill-gotten gains based on their deceptive “no preservatives” marking campaign.

If approved, the ConAgra class action lawsuit would be open to all Class Members who purchased Chef Boyardee food products, sold in cans or other packaging, in the United States, District of Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories, within the last three years.

The plaintiff is represented by Jose R. Franco-Rivera.

The Chef Boyardee False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Cruz-Acevedo, et al. v. ConAgra Foods Inc., Case No. 3:15-cv-02307, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.