A San Diego, California mom is suing Ferrero U.S.A., Inc., an affiliate of Italian-based Ferrero International SA, the makers of the hazelnut-spread Nutella, alleging that Nutella's claim that the chocolaty product is "nutritious" and part of a "healthy breakfast" are false and misleading.
 
Athena Hohenberg filed the claim in U.S. District Court in California.  In her statement of claim, Ms. Hohenberg says she was “shocked to learn” from friends “that Nutella was in fact not a ‘healthy,’ ‘nutritious’ food but was instead the next best thing to a candy bar.”
 
In advertising and labeling that the lawsuit calls “misleading,” Nutella is shown as part of a “tasty yet balanced breakfast” alongside fresh fruit, whole wheat bread and juice.  Nutella’s TV ads also show “a mother feeding Nutella to happy, healthy children,” the lawsuit says.
 
The lawsuit demands that Ferrero be forbidden from advertising Nutella as “healthy” or “nutritious” and launch a “corrective advertising campaign.” It also demands the restitution of “all monies from the sale of Nutella, which were unjustly acquired through acts of unlawful, unfair and/or fraudulent competition.” 
 
According to the lawsuit, the ingredients “significantly contribute to America’s alarming increase in childhood obesity” and can cause heart disease, type-2 diabetes and other “serious health problems.”
 
Nutella spokeswoman Elise Titan, said, “We stand behind the quality and ingredients of Nutella hazelnut spread and the advertising of our product.”
 
—Source:  The Globe and Mail (Toronto, ON, Canada)