The “Texas Toast” made by the T. Marzetti Company and sold in supermarkets is a kind of frozen garlic bread. It’s sold under the New York Bakery brand and advertised as having “No Preservatives.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that the products do contain preservatives, because they contain citric acid.
The class for this action is all persons who bought the products in New York, for personal use and not for resale, between November 3, 2018 and the present.
The garlic breads come in four varieties: Ultimate Garlic, Real Garlic, Five Cheese, and Real Parmesan.
The second page of the complaint depicts the front of the box for the Ultimate Garlic variety, promising “Fresh Crushed & Roasted Garlic with Herbs” and “No Preservatives.” Subsequent pages show the boxes for the other three varieties, also promising “No Preservatives.” Also shown are the backs of the boxes, each of which repeats the promise of “No Preservatives,” and images of the ingredient panels. Each type of garlic bread lists Citric Acid as an ingredient of the garlic spread.
The complaint alleges, “The [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] classifies citric acid as a preservative in its Overview of Food Ingredients, Additives, and Colors, on the FDA’s website and provides examples of uses of preservatives like citric acid, including[] in frozen foods.”
Consumers these days will pay more for foods that don’t contain preservatives, the complaint alleges, “because of the perceived higher quality [and] health and safety benefits associated with such foods.” According to the complaint, a 2015 Nielsen survey showed that “88 percent of Americans are willing to pay more for healthier foods.”
The complaint refers to a Nielsen article and an Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science report to claim, “The average consumer spends only 13 seconds to make an in-store purchasing decision.”
This means, the complaint alleges, that consumer decisions are “heavily based upon the product’s front labeling. Based on its front label, reasonable consumers believe that the Products are free of preservatives, and would not know that the Products actually contain a preservative.”
Even though citric acid is noted in the ingredient list, the complaint says, consumers generally “do not have [the] specialized knowledge necessary to identify ingredients in the Products as being inconsistent with [Marzetti’s] advertised claim of ‘No Preservatives.’” In other words, even if they were to read the ingredient list, they are not likely to recognize citric acid as a preservative.”
The complaint alleges that Marzetti’s “practice of capitalizing on consumers’ preferences for healthier products is false and deceptive.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
New York Bakery Texas Toast “No Preservatives” Claim New York Complaint
November 3, 2021
The “Texas Toast” made by the T. Marzetti Company and sold in supermarkets is a kind of frozen garlic bread. It’s sold under the New York Bakery brand and advertised as having “No Preservatives.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that the products do contain preservatives, because they contain citric acid.
New York Bakery Texas Toast “No Preservatives” Claim New York ComplaintCase Event History
New York Bakery Texas Toast “No Preservatives” Claim New York Complaint
November 3, 2021
The “Texas Toast” made by the T. Marzetti Company and sold in supermarkets is a kind of frozen garlic bread. It’s sold under the New York Bakery brand and advertised as having “No Preservatives.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that the products do contain preservatives, because they contain citric acid.
New York Bakery Texas Toast “No Preservatives” Claim New York Complaint