Advertised as “Italy’s No. 1 brand of pasta,” the popular brand Barilla will face a lawsuit over accusations it misled consumers to believe products made in Iowa and New York were actually made in Italy.
A federal judge on Monday denied Barilla’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of misrepresenting its products. Judge Donna Ryu found that the company’s phrase, “Italy’s No.1 brand of pasta,” could mislead consumers to believe that the pasta is made in Italy. Barilla also features the green, red and white colors of the Italian flag on the signature blue boxes.
In addition to asking the court to stop Barilla from using Italy’s likeness in marketing and on the product, plaintiffs are seeking monetary compensation, claiming they overpaid for pasta.
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Barilla originated as a bread and pasta shop in Italy but is now based in Illinois. Barilla argues that its trademark is used to “invoke the company’s Italian roots through generalized representations of the brand as a whole,” not mislead buyers.
The judge’s decision comes on the heels of a similar complaint filed against the makers of Texas Pete hot sauce after a California man learned the product isn’t actually made in Texas.
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What does the lawsuit claim?
In the original complaint, Matthew Sinatro and Jessica Prost said that because of how the company’s products are advertised, they purchased multiple boxes of Barilla spaghetti and angel hair pasta with the belief the pasta was made in Italy with Italian ingredients.
The complaint says Barilla doesn’t exclusively use Italian wheat in its products and exploits consumers who are willing to pay more for authentic Italian pasta. The company is accused of using deceptive advertising and marketing to charge more and increase profits.
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The plaintiffs also claim Barilla has an unfair advantage over “lawfully acting competitors” at the expense of “unwitting consumers.”
Barilla did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY’s NOW team.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barilla pasta sued over products being made in US, not Italy
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/marketed-italys-no-1-brand-223739774.html