A proposed class action claims the labeling of Dietz & Watson’s “Smoked Provolone Cheese” slices misleads consumers into believing the flavor comes from the product actually being smoked.
In truth, the suit says, the cheese’s flavor is not derived from being smoked over wood chips but from added smoke flavor, the presence of which is only revealed within the product’s ingredients list. According to the case, Dietz & Watson should have disclosed the added smoke flavor as part of the food’s name to comply with food labeling laws.
“The Product is misbranded and misleading because its label does not state the common or usual name of the food – ‘Natural Smoke Flavored Provolone Cheese’ – in violation of the requirements of federal and state law,” the complaint states.
According to the suit, consumers prefer foods flavored by a characterizing food ingredient or through a natural production process over foods flavored by “essential oil and extractives that provide these qualities.”
In other words, the case explains, foods whose smokey flavor is derived from being smoked—a natural method of food preparation that involves slow cooking over a fire of wood chips—are preferable to those that contain smoke flavor “for reasons including nutrition, health and the avoidance of additives and highly processed ingredients.”
Per the complaint, the “smoked provolone cheese” representation on the product’s front label, absent any qualifying terms such as “flavor,” “flavored,” “natural smoke flavor,” or “artificial smoke flavored,” would give consumers no reason to doubt that the cheese was flavored by being smoked over a fire.
“Smoked provolone that gets its smoked taste from being smoked is not a rare or pricy delicacy that would make a reasonable consumer ‘double check’ the veracity of the front label claims,” the complaint scathes, adding that even if a consumer did check the product’s ingredients, the inclusion of “smoke flavor” does not preclude the possibility that the cheese was also “subject to some smoking.”
According to the case, Dietz & Watson’s branding, marketing and packaging of the smoked provolone cheese was meant to “deceive, mislead, and defraud” consumers, who paid a higher price than they would have in the absence of the defendant’s alleged misconduct.
The lawsuit comes nearly four months after a similar suit was filed accusing Dietz & Watson of misleading consumers with the labeling of its “smoked gouda” product.
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