Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now on to a developing story from Hialeah. A woman is suing Kraft Heinz for $5 million because she says that one of their mac and cheese products takes longer to make than the company claims. Christie is in our newsroom with the details of the lawsuit. Christie?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
This big lawsuit is about Kraft’s Velveeta Shells & Cheese Cups and the company’s claim that it takes only three and a half minutes to make in a microwave. The plaintiff, from here in South Florida, says that’s a lie, and she’s suing for false advertising.
(00:28)
This is the product in question, it is a microwaveable Velveeta Shells & Cheese Cups, and you can see the little emblem right there on the bottom left-hand corner. It says it’s ready in three and a half minutes. But again, the plaintiff says that doesn’t take into account the additional preparation time needed before, during, and after cooking it for those three and a half minutes.
(00:48)
The attorney for the plaintiff did release a statement to Local 10 earlier today. I’ll read it in part to you. “I’ve gotten a lot of flack about this case, but deceptive advertising is deceptive advertising. Here Kraft charges extra for a desirable feature, saving time, but the marketing is false. It takes far longer for the product to be ready than as advertised. The consumers deserve better.”
(01:11)
The lawsuit does suggest the packaging should instead say, “The product takes three and a half minutes to cook in the microwave.” Local 10 has reached out to Kraft Heinz for a comment from their end on this lawsuit, and we have yet to hear back.
(01:24)
Eden.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Okay. All right. Thank you, Christie.