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A Florida woman wants to take Kraft Heinz to court for allegedly misleading the public on how long it takes to prepare a popular mac and cheese meal, per NPR.
A West Palm Beach-based law firm filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Amanda Ramirez in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on November 18, according to court records. The filing accused the parent company of violating federal law by advertising Velveeta Shells & Cheese cups taking three and a half minutes to prepare.
The label says "ready in 3½ minutes," which is how long it takes to cook in the microwave. However, Ramirez claims this doesn't include the actual preparation process, which includes stirring, adding cheese and water, and waiting for the sauce to thicken.
"As a result of the false and misleading representations, the Product is sold at a premium price, approximately no less than $10.99 for eight 2.39 oz cups, excluding tax and sales, higher than similar products, represented in a non-misleading way, and higher than it would be sold for absent the misleading representations and omissions," the document reads.
Ramirez's legal team adds that their client is like many customers who "seek to stretch their money as far as possible when buying groceries" and would purchase another product "had she known the truth."
The lawsuit is seeking $5 million in damages and looks to cover anybody who purchased the Velveeta cups in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, New Mexico, Alaska, Iowa, Tennessee, and Virginia during the applicable statute of limitations period,
Kraft Heinz responded to the lawsuit on Sunday (November 27), saying, “We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint.”