Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprungli has thwarted its own claims of ‘excellence’ and that it uses ‘finest ingredients’ after it was revealed that its products allegedly include heavy metals. The company’s move came in an attempt to end a class action lawsuit filed by a US consumer association in February 2023, which questioned the presence of heavy metals in dark chocolate bars from several manufacturers, including two chocolates produced by Lindt.
Lindt’s products are not really ‘expertly crafted’
Lindt, the globally renowned premium chocolate brand known for its tasty delights, has admitted that it may not have exactly been transparent in its marketing strategy. The Swiss brand, known for using high-quality ingredients in its products, said that the words “excellence” and “expertly crafted with the finest ingredients” were just casually thrown in the packaging of their bars and they didn’t actually mean it.
Court dismisses the motion filed by the Swiss brand
The Eastern District of New York district court dismissed a motion filed by the company stating their claims were unactionable “puffery”. The court defined product puffery as “exaggerated advertising, blustering, and boasting upon which no reasonable buyer would rely”.
“Lindt’s high-profit margins are because consumers are willing to pay more for its industrial chocolates because of their quality image”, the court noted, as reported by Swiss newspaper Le Temps.
It added that the firm deceptively marketed their dark chocolate bars as ‘expertly crafted with the finest ingredients’ and ‘safe, as well as delightful’ when the bars in fact included a significant amount of lead.
The lawsuit against Lindt & Sprungli
The concerning levels of lead and cadmium in dark chocolate bars, including two bards from Lindt, were highlighted in a lawsuit filed by US consumer organisation Consumer Reports in 2023 after it tested 28 bars sold in the United States. One of the bars by Lindt was found to have a high level of cadmium, while another was among 10 with a high level of lead. Meanwhile, two of its bars, marketed under the US brand Ghirardelli, were among five bars deemed as ‘safer choices’.
The startling discovery led to the filing of several lawsuits against the brand, with many consumers highlighting how they fell for its claims. However, unless the products contained something that could kill people, consumers don’t exactly have a case.
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