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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/linusengel on 2024-07-02 14:19:40+00:00.
Original Title: TIL that in 2022 two Californians filed a class action lawsuit against Barilla pasta because they thought it was made in Italy. They argue they suffered financial harm because they would not have bought it if they knew it was made in the US. The combined total they spent was $6.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The two are behind a class action lawsuit against the pasta-making company Barilla, which they say is deliberately deceiving shoppers by using the slogan “Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta” on its packaging.
Despite the green, white and red stylized Italian flags displayed on the blue boxes of angel hair, fusilli and bowtie pastas, a complaint filed in Northern California notes that the majority of the company’s products sold in the U.S. are produced in Iowa and New York and are not made with ingredients sourced from Italy.
Sinatro and Prost argue in their complaint that they were duped by the company’s alleged “false advertising” and deceptive marketing practices and that they would not have spent a combined total of $6 on Barilla products had they known the pastas they were taking home were made in the United States.
“[C]onsumers willingly pay more for Italian sounding and/or looking products,” and Barilla leveraged the implied connection to Italy “[i]n an effort to increase profits and to obtain an unfair competitive advantage,” the complaint states.
"Barilla Pasta that is sold in the United States is made in our plants in Ames, IA and Avon, NY, with a few exceptions.
Court documents show that Barilla filed to get the case dismissed, arguing that Sinatro and Prost couldn’t prove that they suffered financial harm.
The original article contains 423 words, the summary contains 219 words. Saved 48%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
