Instant food has made our lives much easier. Whenever hunger pangs strike, we quickly grab a packet of instant noodles or pasta, boil it and dig into it in a matter of a few minutes. Maggi, for instance, marketed itself and was popularly known as '2-minute noodles' in India. Sometimes, however, these brands run into their own share of trouble when they state that the instant food will be ready in a certain amount of time. And this is exactly what happened recently in the United States. A woman based in Florida, USA has filed a class-action lawsuit against Kraft Heinz, claiming that their product takes longer than stated to prepare.
The woman, Amanda Ramirez, filed a lawsuit against Kraft Heinz Foods Company in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division. The product in question was the Velveeta Shells & Cheese, made with shell pasta dressed with a creamy cheese sauce. As per the lawsuit, these boxed pasta are sold with microwavable cups inside that are meant for single servings. Further, the label "Ready in 3.5 minutes" is displayed prominently on the packaging of the box.
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Instant pasta is quite popular in the markets thanks to its quick preparation time. Photo: iStock
According to Ramirez, "The statement of "ready in 3 and 1/2 minutes" is false and misleading because the Product takes longer than 3-and-a-half minutes to prepare for consumption." The three-and-a-half minutes mentioned here is just the microwave time while the actual preparation time takes longer than this. Thus, technically the pasta isn't ready for consumption in 3.5 minutes.
The US woman is asking for 5 million US dollars or Rs. 40 crores approximately in compensation in damages for false and misleading representations. Ramirez further said that she was looking for 'bold statements of value' while selecting groceries and would not have bought the product if the total time was listed. Meanwhile, The Kraft Heinz Company told Fox Business, "We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint."
What did you think of the US woman's lawsuit against the snack company? Do you feel it was misleading advertising? Tell us in the comments below.