Class Action Claims Pepperidge Farm Misrepresents Butter Content in Golden Butter Crackers [DISMISSED]
by Erin Shaak
Last Updated on April 12, 2022
Floyd v. Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated
Filed: May 31, 2021 ◆§ 3:21-cv-00525
A lawsuit alleges Pepperidge Farm’s advertising and labeling of its Golden Butter crackers have misled consumers into believing the snack is made predominantly with butter.
Illinois
Case Updates
April 12, 2022 – Pepperidge Farm Butter Crackers Class Action Dismissed
The proposed class action detailed on this page was dismissed for good on March 2, 2022 after the plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint.
The suit’s initial dismissal, which allowed the plaintiff leave to amend the case, came on January 24, 2022. In an 18-page memo opinion and order, U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn found that the use of the word “golden” on the Pepperidge Farm product’s label was not misleading given the crackers were of a golden color. Further, the judge stated that the use of the word “butter” was similarly not false or misleading given the crackers contained butter.
More importantly, the court disagreed with the plaintiff’s claim that consumers would be misled by the Golden Butter crackers label into thinking butter was the snack’s sole shortening agent.
“First, consumers were not deceived by representations that the crackers contained butter,” the document reads. “It is the second ingredient on the label, behind only flour. Second, consumers were not deceived by the name, ‘Golden Butter,’ as the crackers were both golden-hued and contained butter.”
Overall, the court found there to be no “untruths,” ambiguity or deception on the product’s packaging.
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A proposed class action alleges Pepperidge Farm’s advertising and labeling of its Golden Butter crackers have misled consumers into believing the snack is made predominantly with butter and contains a minimal amount of substitutes.
The 11-page suit says the defendant’s “Golden Butter” representations, in particular, are misleading because the packaging fails to adequately disclose that the crackers contain a significant amount of vegetable oils in addition to butter. The case claims consumers, upon viewing the defendant’s packaging, come to expect that the crackers contain more butter and less vegetable oils than they actually do.
“The Product contains more vegetable oil than expected given the absence of any qualification of ‘Golden Butter’ or disclosure of butter substitutes on the ingredient list,” the complaint contends.
According to the lawsuit, consumers prefer butter to less expensive, “chemically produced” vegetable oils “for reasons including taste, health and avoidance of highly processed artificial substitutes.” While vegetable oils contain trans-fat, butter is less processed and rich in nutrients such as calcium, Vitamin A and Vitamin D, the suit relays.
The case charges that although Pepperidge Farm’s Golden Butter crackers contain butter, they also contain a significant amount of butter substitutes, i.e., vegetable oils—a fact only noted in the product’s ingredients list. The lawsuit surmises that Pepperidge Farm sprays vegetable oils on the Golden Butter crackers “immediately after they are taken from the oven” to give the snack a golden appearance. This practice is misleading, the case argues, because consumers expect that the golden color of the crackers comes from butter.
“Defendant substitutes vegetable oils for butter, and consumers get less butter,” the complaint says.
The suit goes on to assert that vegetable oils are “highly susceptible” to oxidation, a chemical process that reverts their “neutral” flavor “back to the original crude oil odor and aroma before they were refined, bleached and deodorized.” The result, according to the case, is a flavor described as “beany,” “powdery” or “fishy.” Per the suit, the addition of vegetable oil to Pepperidge Farm’s Golden Butter crackers “detract[s] from their taste and push[es] the butter taste to the background.”
The lawsuit adds that butter crackers made with only butter and no vegetable oils are “technologically feasible” and already exist in the marketplace. Pepperidge Farm, the suit says, purposely chose to name its product “Golden Butter” crackers “since this is more enticing to consumers.” Unbeknownst to buyers, however, the product is worth “materially less than its value” as represented by Pepperidge Farm, the case claims.
The lawsuit, which alleges violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, looks to cover Illinois residents who purchased Pepperidge Farm Golden Butter crackers during the statute of limitations period.
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