Velveeta Mac and Cheese Cups Not ‘Ready in 3 ½ Minutes’ as Advertised, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges the Kraft Heinz Foods Company has falsely and misleadingly advertised that its Velveeta mac and cheese cups can be “ready in 3 ½ minutes.”

The 15-page complaint says that although consumers understand “ready in 3 ½ minutes” to mean it takes just three-and-a-half minutes to prepare a Velveeta single-serving “shells & cheese” cup—that is, from the moment it’s opened to the moment it’s ready to eat—product labels do not clearly disclose that the “3 ½ minutes” accounts only for the time the snack needs to be microwaved. 

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“The label does not state the Product ‘takes 3 ½ minutes to cook in the microwave,’ which would have been true,” the suit summarizes, alleging consumers are misled into expecting that the Velveeta mac and cheese will be ready to eat in “a shorter amount of time than it really takes to prepare.” 

According to the case, the four steps to prepare the Velveeta mac and cheese include removing a cup’s lid and cheese sauce pouch, adding water to the cup’s fill line and stirring, microwaving uncovered on high for three-and-a-half minutes without draining, and finally stirring in the contents of the cheese sauce pouch. The filing contends that consumers see the “ready in 3 ½ minutes” claim and believe the mac and cheese will be ready to eat in that amount of time, not that just one of the preparation steps will be completed. 

As the case tells it, the Velveeta mac and cheese would need to be cooked in the microwave for less than three-and-a-half minutes in order for the product to be ready to eat, start to finish, in that timeframe. 

“Defendant sold more of the Product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers,” the suit claims. 

The lawsuit looks to cover consumers in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, New Mexico, Alaska, Iowa, Tennessee and Virginia who bought Velveeta mac and cheese cups during the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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