Cucina & Amore Class Action Challenges ‘No Preservatives’ Claim

A class action lawsuit says Cucina & Amore pasta sauces and artichoke bruschetta are not preservative free, as claimed by the company.

Plaintiff Mark Flolo says he purchased a 7.9 oz. container of Cucina & Amore Sundried Tomato Pesto Sauce for his personal use, at a Safeway in  California earlier this year.

The Cucina & Amore class action claims Flolo made his purchasing decision based on the fact that the product was advertised as being free from preservatives, but he later discovered that the pesto sauce did indeed contain preservatives.

Flolo says that he was financially injured by his purchase because he “paid money for a sauce that did not deliver the qualities it promised, and misled him as to its contents.”

The Cucina & Amore pasta sauce class action alleges that had the plaintiff known that the product contained preservatives, he would not have purchased it or would not have paid as much for it as he did.

Flolo aims to hold Cucina & Amore Inc. liable for his alleged injury and for misrepresenting their products.

The plaintiff argues that he is not the only person to be misled by Cucina & Amore’s labeling, because many reasonable consumers would purchase the products based on their belief that they could trust Cucina & Amore to represent its products accurately.

Because of this, Flolo seeks damages on behalf of himself and a Class of similarly affected consumers.

The Cucina & Amore class action lawsuit says that a range of products are misrepresented, including Pesto Alla Genovese, Bruschetta Artichoke, Whole Artichoke Hearts, Piquillo and Artichoke Bruchetta, Pesto All Firenze, Sun-dried Tomatoes Bruschetta, Pequillo Peppers and Mango Salsa, Basil Pesto Truffle Sauce, Sundried Tomato Truffle Sauce, Pesto Alla Siciliana, and other products.

Flolo says that if Cucina & Amore changes their package labeling to be accurate, he would be willing to purchase the products again, but if they do not make any changes, he would not be able to trust that the labeling was accurate and would not purchase the products.

According to the Cucina & Amore preservatives class action lawsuit, Flolo purchased the Sundried Tomato Pesto Sauce for the premium price of $3.99.

Allegedly, the product was priced higher than comparable products because it was labeled as not containing preservatives.

The Cucina & Amore class action claims that the company aimed to capitalize on consumers’ preference for preservative-free products and their willingness to pay a premium for them.

Allegedly, the company priced the Sundried Tomato Pesto Sauce and other products higher than they would if they were labeled as containing preservatives, because they know consumers will pay a premium for, and show a preference towards, such items.

Flolo argues that by gaining profits this way, Cucina & Amore unjustly enriched itself.

The Cucina & Amore preservatives class action lawsuit argues that the products contain citric acid and ascorbic acid, both recognized by the FDA as preservatives.

The Cucina & Amore pasta sauce labeling class action lawsuit goes on to claim that the company knew or should have known that citric and ascorbic acid are preservatives, and intentionally misrepresented its products.

Flolo is represented by C.K. Lee and Nadir O. Ahmed.

The Cucina & Amore Pasta Sauce Preservatives Class Action Lawsuit is Mark Flolo v. Cucina & Amore Inc., Case No. 4:18-cv-06374-DMR, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Fransisco Division.