Class Action Alleges Butterless Crisco ‘Butter’ Cooking Spray Is Mislabeled

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A proposed class action claims Crisco-branded “Butter – No-Stick Spray” is misleadingly labeled in that the product contains no butter.

According to the 14-page case, a reasonable consumer, upon viewing the Crisco cooking spray’s label, would expect the product to contain butter instead of butter substitutes. The suit alleges, however, that the spray “does not contain any butter” and is made instead with mostly canola oil.

Per the lawsuit, defendant J.M. Smucker Company has sold more of the Crisco product, and at higher prices, than it would have absent the allegedly misleading labeling. Because of the lack of butter, the Crisco spray is worth “materially less” than its value as represented by the defendant, the case says.

Consumers prefer butter to alternatives such as canola oil “[f]or numerous reasons,” including that butter is natural, does not contain trans fats, is “rich in nutrients” such as Vitamins A and D and “has a creamy, sweet taste,” the lawsuit states. According to the suit, the FDA has noted that when a food is labeled with “butter,” reasonable consumers expect “that whenever butter could be used in a product, it would be.”

The case claims that although consumers expect the Crisco “Butter – No-Stick Spray” product to contain butter, it is made mostly with canola oil and contains no butter at all. Per the lawsuit, the spray is required under food labeling regulations to be identified as “an artificially butter flavored no-stick spray.” While the front label of the Crisco product states that the spray contains “natural and artificial flavor,” this statement is “insufficient” to inform consumers of the absence of butter, the suit attests:

The case alleges the Crisco product amounts to an imitation of butter given it “is a substitute for and resembles another food [butter] but is nutritionally inferior to that food.” Per the suit, the Crisco product lacks the calcium found in butter and contains “none of the ingredients required by the standard of identity for butter” yet mimics butter’s physical properties, such as preventing food from sticking to a pan.

The filing adds that the Crisco brand, which has been around for “a hundred years,” has historically “sought to emulate butter.” Moreover, consumers are further misled by the “Butter” representation on the product’s label given the defendant sells an olive oil no-stick spray under the Crisco brand that contains olive oil, the complaint claims.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in Illinois, Iowa or Arkansas who purchased the Crisco Butter – No-Stick spray during the statute of limitations period.

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