The makers of Cape Cod potato chips were hit with a potential class action lawsuit last month alleging the brand falsely claims its snacks are free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
The suit, filed in New York federal court on October 23, comes from shopper Rozaliya Ripa, who claims she bought the kettle-cooked chips “numerous times” under false pretenses, including during an August trip to a Brooklyn Stop & Shop store.
Had Ripa “known the claims were false and misleading, she would not have purchased the Products or would have only been willing to purchase the Products at a lesser price,” the suit claims.
The lawsuit alleges that Cape Cod chips contain citric acid, an ingredient that is “no longer commercially available” in its natural form and is made synthetically by using “industrial chemicals to render the ingredient from mold.”
Campbell’s Company, which has owned Cape Cod since 2018, declined to comment on the claims in the pending litigation.
“Cape Cod chips are made with high quality, carefully selected ingredients,” the company said in an email to The Independent.
An initial conference in the case is scheduled for December.
The chip company was founded in 1980 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, where its products are still manufactured.
A survey this year from MarketBeat found that Cape Cod chips are the most beloved American-made product in the state.
The company was hit with a similar suit in July.
“Defendant markets its products in a systematically misleading manner by misrepresenting that the products do not contain preservatives,” the class action complaint reads.
That same month, in a sign of an increasingly health-conscious marketplace, Del Monte Foods, a 139-year-old firm known for its canned fruits and vegetables, announced it was filing for bankruptcy protection.
“After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods,” CEO Greg Longstreet said in a statement.
