Woman Wants $5 Million Bucks for Mac and Cheese Preparation Lies
A Florida woman wants $5 million dollars from Kraft Heinz because she says the claim on the boxes of Velveeta Shells & Cheese cups takes three and a half minutes to prepare, yet, that's the cooking time, not the prep time. Actually, the whole $5 million isn't for her, she's just the name listed on the class action lawsuit filed on behalf of everyone who bought the product. This is according to an article on the Fox 4 website. Yet, is it actually a big deal? If you used the product do you consider it false advertising?
Honestly, my experience with Kraft Mac and Cheese cups, and similar products, makes me think of the phrase, taste the disappointment. Because that's what I tasted every time I prepared one of these quick add water and nuke cups. But I guess that's not important here.
The lawsuit, according to the Fox 4 story, lays out the preparation of the cups, which takes more than three and a half minutes. That's because the straightforward steps of removing the lid and cheese sauce pouch, adding water, stirring in the cheese sauce, and letting the completed product stand all add time to the prep process.
Apparently, by saying it takes three and a half minutes to prepare when it takes however long it actually does, Kraft Heinz violated federal law. I'll take the lawyers and the Fox 4 story at their word. Although, really three and a half minutes, five minutes, six minutes. Is it actually worth the lawsuit? Is it worth holding Kraft Heinz to this?
Maybe. If there is a chance that you let Kraft Heinz off the hook for that, then you might have to let Volkswagen off the hook for faking emission standards. Or Airborne off the hook for making the claim that their product wards off germs. Or that Lancôme Génifique and L’Oréal Paris Youth Code skincare products had been "clinically proven" without any studies being done. Well, OK then. (These are three of the worst false advertising claims in recent times, according to the law offices of Todd M. Friedman.)
What I can't get over though is the disappointment one feels when actually eating these heat-and-eat cups. Or the fact that the lady paid the "premium price" of $10.99 so she could taste the disappointment. Maybe everyone that's choked these cups down deserves some money for that.