Nutella manufacturer faces lawsuit over nutrition claims
The name plaintiff, Ms. Athena Hohenberg, mother of a four-year-old child, claims she was ‘shocked’ when she found out that the spread was unhealthy and “the next best thing to a candy bar” through speaking with friends. She said she had bought the spread because she sought a healthy snack or breakfast alternative for her household.
Hohenberg complains that the company’s commercials portray Nutella as “an example of a tasty yet balanced breakfast” in association with a picture of fresh fruits, whole wheat toast and orange juice.
“Nutella, however, contains about 70% saturated fat and processed sugars by weight,” the court document reads. “Both these ingredients contribute significantly to America’s alarming increases in childhood obesity, which can lead to lifelong health problems. Therefore, Nutella is not part of a nutritionally ‘balanced’ breakfast for consumption by children, as Defendant’s advertising deceptively suggests.”
The case alleges that the advertising of Nutella violates consumer protection laws by portraying it as a healthy, nutritious breakfast for children, and demands that Ferrero be barred from advertising Nutella as healthy or nutritious and launch a ‘corrective advertising campaign.’ It also demands that consumers be refunded for their Nutella purchases, claiming that revenues gained through Nutella sales were “unjustly acquired through acts of unlawful, unfair and/or fraudulent competition.”
Nutella’s maker Ferrero USA has refused to comment specifically on the case, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, company spokesperson Elise Titan said: “We stand behind the quality and ingredients of Nutella hazelnut spread and the advertising of our product.”
The court documents are online here.
