She was hungry and put a pack of microwaves and cheese in the microwave. According to the instructions, the dish should be ready in just three and a half minutes. But it wasn’t. That’s why Amanda Ramirez from Hialeah, Florida, is now going to court. She is suing the manufacturer, the food giant Kraft Heinz Foods Company.
Ramirez finds the instructions for use “wrong and misleading”. She had to wait much longer before she could eat the pasta. According to court documents, her lawyers claim that if she had known it would take longer than the three and a half minutes, she would not have purchased the microwavable dish. After all, all work steps should be taken into account, not just the pure time in the microwave.
The food giant would thus benefit from false advertising, but abuse the trust of its customers. Ramirez is claiming damages for this alleged deception – and not exactly little. Specifically: five million dollars! To this end, she demands that the timestamp on the packaging of the microwave pasta be changed.
Companies must advertise honestly
The Kraft Heinz Foods Company described the lawsuit as “frivolous”. “We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will vigorously defend the allegations in the lawsuit,” a spokesperson for the food giant told CNN.
Ramirez’s lawyers don’t see it that way at all. The case may sound strange, but it has a serious background. “There are a lot of people who think it’s just a lie and not really a case, and I understand that. But we’re striving for something better,” said Will Wright, one of Ramirez’s attorneys. The lawsuit is about companies that must be honest in their advertising. (lrc)