A legal battle has emerged against Kahala Brands, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, following a New York woman’s disappointment upon discovering that her “pistachio” ice cream lacked… pistachios.
Federal Judge Gary R. Brown at the Eastern District Court of New York in Brooklyn, recently greenlit the case’s progression.
Originating from a visit to a Levittown, Long Island, Cold Stone Creamery in July 2022, the plaintiff ordered what she assumed was pistachio ice cream. Her legal representatives contended that she reasonably assumed the presence of pistachios based on the product’s name. However, Judge Brown noted her subsequent dismay.
Upon scrutinizing the ice cream’s ingredient list on the website, the plaintiff found it was concocted from a blend of highly processed components sans actual pistachios. Instead, the flavoring comprised a mixture of “Water, Ethanol, Propylene Glycol, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Yellow 5, [and] Blue 1,” according to the ruling.
The plaintiff’s counsel argued that had she been aware, she would have abstained from purchasing the ice cream. Comparatively, she juxtaposed Cold Stone Creamery’s pistachio ice cream with offerings from Häagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry’s, both containing genuine pistachios.
She further referenced a survey involving over 400 US consumers, where approximately 85% believed a product labeled as pistachio ice cream would contain pistachios, as per the ruling.
Despite Kahala Brands’ attempts to dismiss the case, including citing an online ingredient list as adequate, the judge remained unmoved. Nonetheless, he narrowed the focus of the case solely to pistachio ice cream, excluding other potentially deceptive products, and dismissed implied warranty and unjust enrichment claims.
The trial date remains uncertain.
Do you think this is a reasonable case? Let us know in the comments below.
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4 comments
This is beyond ridiculous. I cannot believe someone could be so over the top about something as insignificant as a nut or lack there of.
Absolutely agree the advertised flavor is completely misleading. If I was looking for a particular flavor/ingredient and ingested something entirely different, I would be very upset
Does Coldstone Creamery claim to have “natural” or “real” or “actual” ingredients based on their flavor profile? Do they claim to have “flavored” ice cream based on their ingredients? No. And neither do many other similar franchises and other big companies hawking their foodstuffs. Coldstone’s claim to fame is fabulous tasting, rich ice cream, with fun and flavorful mix ins added for a premium. I get the complaint, but not the lawsuit; it seems frivolous and unnecessary. Like many people, I look for “real” or “actual” ingredients as many people do in certain products for health reasons. If you are eating Coldstone, you may not care about your health at the time. The ironic thing is that if you are allergic to tree nuts (like my daughter), you could probably actually eat the pistachio ice cream as it has no pistachios! So that’s a win in that case. OK, I’m done here.
There are no laws governing the nomenclature of dishes in a restaurant. This is not packaged food and therefore does not fall under the FDA’s guidelines for naming ice cream. When you order “Baseball Nut” from Baskin Robbins do you expect there to be baseballs in the ice cream??