Class Action Claims Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes Misleadingly Contain Both Butter and Vegetable Oil [UPDATE]
by Erin Shaak
Last Updated on March 3, 2020
Sarr v. BEF Foods, Inc.
Filed: November 11, 2018 ◆§ 1:18-cv-06409
The maker of Bob Evans brand ready-to-eat mashed potatoes has been hit with a lawsuit that takes issue with the claim that the products are “Made with Real Potatoes, Milk & Butter," arguing that the product actually contains a "butter blend."
Case Updates
Update – January 13, 2020 – Case Dismissed
A federal judge has dismissed the case detailed on this page, ruling that the “Made with Real . . . Butter” claim on packages of Bob Evans branded mashed potatoes is not misleading.
In her opinion issued on January 13, U.S. District Judge Allyne R. Ross noted that the mashed potatoes do, in fact, contain real butter and argued that a reasonable consumer would not likely interpret the claim as an indication that butter, as opposed to vegetable oil, is the only source of fat in the product. The opinion points out that the presence of oil is clearly disclosed in the mashed potatoes’ ingredient list.
Moreover, the judge took no issue with the defendant’s use of the word “fresh” on the product’s packaging, arguing that the “Made with Fresh Potatoes” statement “unambiguously” means that the potatoes used in the product were fresh when incorporated, not that the product was “just prepared” and contained no preservatives, as the plaintiff contended.
“By labeling the Mashed Potatoes as ‘made with fresh potatoes,’ BEF clearly meant that it took potatoes that were fresh and made mashed potatoes with them,” the judge wrote. “Potatoes are a raw ingredient, and it is unclear what it would even mean to make mashed potatoes out of ‘just prepared’ potatoes.”
Similarly, the opinion argued that the “farm-fresh goodness” statement on the products’ packaging would not cause a reasonable consumer to believe that the mashed potatoes had arrived freshly from a farm. Mashed potatoes, the judge stated, must be cooked and “obviously requires some amount of processing” between growing the ingredients on a farm and serving the prepared dish for dinner.
Update – July 29, 2019 – Amended Complaint Filed
The plaintiff filed an amended complaint on June 29, 2019. Read it here.
The maker of Bob Evans brand ready-to-eat mashed potatoes has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit that takes issue with the claim that the products are “Made with Real Potatoes, Milk & Butter.” The case argues that despite label representations, defendant BEF Foods, Inc.’s product is, in fact, made with a “butter blend” that contains various vegetable oils, ingredients a reasonable consumer would not expect to be included in a product supposedly made with real butter.
The lawsuit details an age-old “rivalry” between butter and vegetable oils such as margarine, pointing out that consumers in search of real butter would be surprised to find that both butter and margarine are present in a product.
“[W]hen purchasing and consuming defendant’s Products, [consumers] do not get to make that all-important decision – choosing butter or vegetable oil-based lipids – and instead, they get both despite believing they will only be having butter,” the complaint reads.
The suit takes further issue with the defendant’s “extensive use of the term ‘fresh,’” arguing that freshly prepared mashed potatoes have a shelf life of seven to 10 days while BEF Foods’ products have a three-month shelf life. Upon reading the product labels’ “fresh,” “Made with Fresh Potatoes,” and “farm-fresh goodness” claims, consumers, the lawsuit argues, would be misled into thinking the products are free from preservatives such as potassium sorbate and sodium acid pyrophosphate.
“These preservatives change the essential nature of an uncomplicated food–basic mashed potatoes (what consumers want) – to an artificial product they would avoid if they knew the truth,” the complaint reads.
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