$5M Lawsuit Filed Over Velveeta Mac & Cheese Cook Time

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL — A woman has filed a class action lawsuit against Kraft Heinz and is seeking over $5 million on the grounds that the company’s Velveeta-brand microwaveable pasta and cheese cups take longer to prepare than advertised.

Amanda Ramirez of Hialeah, Florida, brought the lawsuit, dated Nov. 18, in the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, against Kraft Heinz Foods Co., which is co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh.

In the legal filing, posted online by classaction.org, Ramirez accused the company of fraud, warranty breaches, and violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and Consumer Fraud Acts in other states. Packaging for the Velveeta-brand shells and cheese cups claims the product is “ready in 3 1/2 minutes,” when, in fact, the time stated on the package is only the microwave time, not the total time needed to complete all four steps necessary to prepare the product, the lawsuit said.

“Defendant’s conduct offends established public policy and is immoral, unethical, oppressive, and unscrupulous to consumers,” according to the filing.

Ramirez bought the shells and cheese earlier in the fall at a Publix grocery store in Hialeah, said the lawsuit, which seeks certification of multiple classes. These include anyone in Florida who purchased the item during the statutes of limitations for the lawsuit’s allegations as well as qualifying customers in the Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class, which spans Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, New Mexico, Alaska, Iowa, Tennessee and Virginia.

The lawsuit demands a jury trial and seeks more than $5 million, including damages. The filing also argues that the company should be ordered to stop its "deceptive" advertising and launch a campaign to inform customers that the product takes longer than 3.5 minutes to prepare.

Kraft Heinz did not immediately respond Monday to an email requesting comment.