California Plaintiff Shocked to Learn Nutella® Contains Sugar and Fat
A California resident who purportedly bought the hazelnut spread Nutella® to
provide a nutritious snack or breakfast for her 4-year-old daughter has filed a
putative class action against its manufacturer alleging violations of consumer
protection laws. Hohenberg v. Ferrero U.S.A., Inc., No. 11-0205 (S.D.
Cal., filed February 1, 2011).
Seeking to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased the
product since 2000, Athena Hohenberg claims that she relied on the company’s
product advertisements and representations that Nutella® is a “healthy
breakfast” and “nutritious.” According to the complaint, she did not learn until
December 2010 “through friends what ingredients were in the Nutella® that
she was feeding her family. She was shocked to learn that Nutella® was in fact
not a ‘healthy’ ‘nutritious’ food but instead was the next best thing to a candy
bar,” containing “about 70% saturated fat and processed sugar by weight.”
Characterizing herself as a “reasonably diligent consumer,” Hohenberg also
asserts that she “is not a nutritionist, food expert, or food scientist; she is a
lay consumer who did not possess the specialized knowledge Ferrero had
which otherwise would have enabled her to associate high levels of saturated
fat and refined sugar with disease.” She contends that even with reasonable
diligence, she “could not have discovered Ferrero’s deceptive practices earlier
because, like nearly all consumers, she does not read scholarly publications
or other materials describing the negative impact of consuming foods high in
saturated fat and refined sugars.”
Seeking damages in excess of $5 million, the plaintiff alleges unlawful
and fraudulent business acts or practices, false advertising, violations of
the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and breaches of express warranty and
implied warranty of merchantability. She requests an order enjoining Ferrero
from making health or balanced nutrition claims for the product, corrective
advertising, disgorgement, the destruction of “all misleading and deceptive
advertising materials and products,” restitution, damages, punitive damages,
costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees.
