Is Barilla ‘Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta?’ Class-action lawsuit calls label misleading

When Jessica Prost bought two packages of Barilla’s classic blue box spaghetti while in a California grocery store, she was OK paying the premium price because she thought the noodles were made in Italy.

The same was true when Matthew Sinatro paid for a box of Barilla’s angel hair pasta in the winter of 2021. He said the label made him think he was buying authentic Italian pasta.

The two have since learned most Barilla pasta sold in the U.S. is actually made in Iowa and New York, with only a few exceptions.

They now represent at least 100 consumers in a federal class-action lawsuit filed against Barilla America, Inc., in the Northern District of California. They seek over $5,000,000, arguing Barilla has been misleading fellow customers into thinking the brand makes all of its pasta in Italy.

Barilla filed a motion to dismiss the June lawsuit, but a judge signed an order denying the dismissal on Oct. 17, according to court records.

“The most recent decision in the ongoing legal matter simply reflects the Court’s early conclusion that the lawsuit can proceed,” the Barilla Group said in a statement to McClatchy News. “Barilla remains committed to vigorously defend against these unfounded claims, as the wording on the box clearly states: ‘Made in the U.S.A. with U.S.A. and imported ingredients.’ We’re very proud of the brand’s Italian heritage, the company’s Italian know-how, and the quality of our pasta in the U.S. and globally.”

‘Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta?’

The legal team representing Prost and Sinatro argue they and other represented consumers would either not have bought Barilla pasta — or at least not paid as much for it — if they knew about the brand’s “purported Italian origin.”

“In an effort to increase profits and to obtain an unfair competitive advantage over its lawfully acting competitors, (Barilla) falsely and misleadingly labels certain of its Barilla brand pastas as ‘Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta,’ deliberately leading reasonable consumers, including Plaintiffs, to believe that the Products are made in Italy,” the attorneys said.

The “misleading” trademark is reinforced by colors used in Italy’s national flag, according to the lawsuit.

But neither the products nor its ingredients are made in Italy, according to the complaint.

“Through falsely, misleadingly, and deceptively labeling the Products, Defendant sought to take advantage of consumers’ desire for authentic Italian pasta, while cutting costs and reaping the financial benefits of manufacturing the Products in the United States of America,” it continued.

The Barilla website says that while most of its pasta sold in the U.S. is not made in Italy, its tortellini and “oven ready lasagne” are. Those packages state “Product of Italy, Distributed by Barilla America, Inc.”

“Barilla opened the Ames plant in 1998 and our Avon plant in 2007,” according to the website. “The Barilla family was very concerned about maintaining Barilla’s high quality standards in the new plant. Consequently, the machines used in our Ames and Avon plants are the same as used in our plant in Parma, Italy. The recipe and the wheat blend are the same as that used in Parma, Italy.”

The wheat used in the company’s products is grown around the world, and not just in Italy.

Barilla America’s corporate office is in Illinois, though the brand also has an office in Parma, where the brand began in 1877 “as a small bread and pasta shop.”

Deliberate marketing

In addition to the “Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta” labeling, the lawsuit said, Barilla has also “deliberately designed and executed a decades long marketing campaign to identify the Barilla brand, company, and Products at issue in this case, as authentic, genuine Italian pastas— made from ingredients sources in Italy.”

This has included advertising the pastas as Italian and maintaining a campaign that emphasizes its origin in Italy, according to the lawsuit.

Barilla describes the brand as “an Italian family-owned food company” on its website, attorneys said, and as an “Italian favorite for over 140 years.”

The Barilla Twitter account’s biography is written in Italian, and its location is set in Parma, Italy.

The labeling and marketing strategy led plaintiffs to believe Barilla is manufactured in Italy, according to the complaint.

An “initial case management conference” regarding the lawsuit is scheduled for Nov. 2.

This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Is Barilla ‘Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta?’ Class-action lawsuit calls label misleading."