Company in hot water: a collective action against Barilla for “deceptive” pasta

A request for collective action against Barilla Pasta has just been authorized in Quebec on the pretext that the company gives “the illusion” that its foods are produced in Italy.

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“Some people have paid more expensive by thinking of buying real Italian pasta in the grocery store. […] The company makes misleading for the consumer, ”explains Journal Lawyer David Assor, from Lex Group cabinet, who pilots this appeal.

His client, Ariane Knafo, has been in the court action since 2022. The Montrealer alleges that Barilla Canada Dupe Dupe her customers by writing on her boxes “The Pasta Nether^O 1 in Italy ”, while accompanying the statement with colors of the Italian flag.

The old pasta packaging with the mention “The brand of pasta number 1 in Italy” with the colors of the Italian flag. FOOD GROCERY GOSSIP

“She regularly buy barilla pasta. […] Knafo has always been under the impression that these pasta were produced in Italy with cultivated ingredients in Italy, ”reads in the judicial document.

No Italy, but from the United States

Faced with these arguments, the Superior Court recently authorized the collective appeal against Barilla Canada.

“Consumers bought these products thinking that they were produced in Italy, and therefore did not get what they paid for. Their consent was vitiated, ”said the Montreal court.

Products from the Barilla Pasta Company in Montreal on Thursday, April 17, 2025. Photo Agence QMI, JOËL LEMAY

By authorizing the demand for collective action, the Court also notes that certain pasta of the company are not at all manufactured in Europe, but rather on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

“The company’s marketing tactics, in place for a decade, aim to sow confusion in the minds of the consumer since products are made in Canada or the United States. Barilla used these misleading tactics in order to attract market share, ”reports the court.

Are you eligible?

M^e David Assor underlines that only Quebecers who bought pasta from Barilla Canada inc. Since October 24, 2019 can register for collective action. Products should not have been designed in Italy.

“They must also have written on it” Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta / The Pasta brand N^o 1 in Italy ”, adds the lawyer.

Photo Agence QMI, JOËL LEMAY

Consumers could possibly obtain a full reimbursement of their purchases. They can go.

A collective action brought against Barilla America inc. has also been approved. A California judge has written in particular that the company “would falsely label its pasta as being manufactured in Italy”.

Recall that the owner of Barilla has raised an uproar. “If homosexuals are not happy, they can eat pasta from another brand!” said Guido Barilla.