Boxes of Swedish Fish

February 2018: A federal judge dismissed this action finding that:

• The injunctive relief claims failed because plaintiffs did not have standing,
• The common law fraud claims failed because plaintiffs did not adequately plead that relying on the allegedly misleading marketing was reasonable because manipulating the package and reading the net weight and quantity on the labels would have “dispelled any misrepresentation as to the amount of food arising from the size of the box”, and
• The statutory claims failed because plaintiffs did not plead there was a material misrepresentation.

The injunctive relief claims and the common law claims were dismissed with prejudice while the statutory claims were dismissed without prejudice. The judge gave the plaintiffs 30 days to amend the statutory claims.

January 2017: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Mondelez International for allegedly using slack-filled boxes for Swedish Fish to make consumers think they are getting more than they actually are. According to the complaint, the cardboard boxes have 63% empty space. (Daniel et al v. Mondelez International, Inc., Case No. 17-cv-174, E. D. NY.)

For more information about other class-action lawsuits regarding slack-filled packaging and TINA.org’s coverage of the issue, click here.