Mamma mia! “Italy’s #1 pasta brand” made in Iowa: lawsuit
These spaghetti machines are in hot water.
Pasta brand Barilla may market itself as more Italian than linguini and clam sauce – but a new lawsuit complains the company actually makes its noodles in Iowa and upstate New York .
The company’s slogan – “Italy’s No. 1 pasta brand” – and packaging evoking the country’s flag are enough to move forward with a class action lawsuit, federal judge Donna said on Monday. Ryu.
In the case, plaintiffs Matthew Sinatro and Jessica Prost steam over cans of spaghetti and angel hair pasta they bought last year, believing they were made in the motherland with authentic ingredients.
The pasta, which they bought for $2 a box in California, was billed “as genuine, genuine Italian pasta – made with ingredients and sources in Italy (like durum wheat) and made in Italy” , according to the complaint filed last year. .
But the pasta brand’s campaign was allegedly misleading when it conveyed “the idea that the products are authentic pasta from Italy”, the plaintiffs claim.
Ryu on Monday denied Barilla’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which demands the company stop using the likeness of Italy in its marketing.
The lawsuit involves the Barilla Company manufacturing its noodles in Iowa and upstate New York.
Federal Judge Donna Ryu ruled that the trademark slogan and packaging was enough to move forward with a class action lawsuit.
She noted the company’s slogan and said its signature blue pasta boxes mimicked the Italian national flag with green, red and white colors.
The plaintiffs are now seeking unspecified monetary compensation, claiming they overpaid for the pasta.
Barilla began as a bread and pasta shop and has its global headquarters in Parma, Italy’s gastronomic capital, home of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. But it also has a North American headquarters in Illinois, with factories in Ames, Iowa, and Avon, New York.
The company argues that its slogan and packaging are used to “evoke the company’s Italian roots through generalized depictions of the brand as a whole”, not to mislead shoppers.
Barilla did not return a request for comment Thursday.
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