Whole Foods Frozen Tilapia Filet Bags Contain Less Fish Than Advertised, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action claims Whole Foods has falsely advertised its 32-ounce bags of frozen tilapia filets in that the bags consistently contain less than 32 ounces of fish.

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The 13-page case was filed by an Illinois consumer who alleges Whole Foods intentionally overcharges buyers for 32-ounce bags of frozen tilapia filets by fraudulently “short-weighting” the product. Although fish filet products are routinely glazed with a thin layer of ice to protect the freshness of the meat, the lawsuit contends that Whole Foods overglazes its frozen tilapia filets to sell the fish at a weight higher than the amount of product actually delivered.

According to the complaint, the United State Department of Commerce (DOC) sets standards for checking the net content of packaged goods and determines limits for how much an underfilled package can deviate from the weight represented on its label. The filing relays that the agency considers it an “unreasonable minus error” if fish products sold in units of 32 ounces, or about 907 grams, are underfilled by more than 31.7 grams.

After conducting an investigation based on the DOC’s guidelines, the plaintiff’s counsel found that approximately 80 percent of the tilapia filets tested were short-weighted due to fraudulent overglazing, the case claims.

“As a result of Defendant’s fraudulent labeling, Plaintiff and the Class have been misled into purchasing Products that did not provide them with the benefit of the bargain they paid money for, namely that the Products would be 907 grams per bag,” the complaint states.

The plaintiff says that he and other reasonable consumers would not have purchased the frozen tilapia filets, or would have paid less for them, had they known the product weighed less than Whole Foods advertised.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased a 32-ounce bag of frozen tilapia filets from Whole Foods within the past five years.

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