A federal judge on Thursday dismissed the central claim in lawsuits accusing five food producers and retailers of deceiving consumers by using “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” labels to describe products that contained cellulose, an anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp.
U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman in Chicago found a lack of proof that the labels would mislead reasonable consumers into thinking the products were 100 percent cheese, despite evidence that two linguistics professors and the “vast majority” consumers in a recent survey thought so.
The judge allowed some state consumer protection claims against Albertsons Cos, Kraft Heinz Co and Walmart Inc over ingredient lists that said cellulose was used to prevent “caking,” when it was also used as filler.
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