HIALEAH, Fla. — A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit against the maker of Velveeta, alleging that the statement on its microwavable shells and cheese meal is misleading because the product takes longer to cook than the 3.5 minutes claimed on the package.
Amanda Ramirez, of Hialeah, filed the class action lawsuit against KraftHeinz earlier this month, according to a website that tracks such filings.
Ramirez says that she wouldn't have purchased the products or paid as much if the preparation time had been correct. The suit also alleges that KraftHeinz sold the product at higher prices based on the cooking time.
The suit claims the "3 1/2 minutes" claim on the package may lead a consumer to believe that represents the total amount of time it takes to prepare the product, including opening the package, adding water, and mixing, in addition to cooking.
However, the "Ready in..." time is the length of time it takes to cook the product, as is marked on multi-packs of the product.
Ramirez calls the claim "deceptive advertising" and demands KraftHeinz inform customers that it will take longer than 3 ½ minutes to prepare the meal.
She is also seeking $5 million in damages.