Kraft Heinz sued for claiming bagel pizzas contain enough 'real' cheese and tomato sauce

Kraft Heinz Foods Company has been sued in a US District Court for allegedly deceiving customers by claiming that its Bagel Bites tiny pizzas have "real" mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.

The complaint states that using the description 'Mini Bagels with Mozzarella Cheese and Tomato Sauce' is deceptive as the ingredients, as understood by consumers and regulations, are either not present in the product or are in an amount less than expected.

Bagel Bites are topped with a cheese blend containing part-skim mozzarella cheese and modified food starch. But real mozzarella cheese, or any cheese blend, should not contain starch. It added that it is "misleading to call a product cheese after adding filler ingredients to it.

The lawsuit also states that Kraft Heinz added cornstarch and methylcellulose in its tomato sauce to reduce tomato content by 35 percent.

The alleged misrepresentation supposedly allowed Kraft Heinz to sell the product at a premium price, which consumers would not have spent had they "known the truth."

The suit seeks injunctive relief, monetary damages, court costs, and class-action status.

A Kraft Heinz spokesperson said they proudly stand by their product and that the lawsuit lacks any merit while vowing to strongly defend their brand.