Pistachi-no.
Cold Stone Creamery is being sued over claims its pistachio ice cream has no pistachios.
A woman visited a Cold Stone location in Levittown, Long Island, in July 2022 and ordered pistachio ice cream, and claimed there were no pistachios in the ingredients. Now, parent company Kahala Brands is facing legal action.
Upon examining the ice cream shop’s website, the woman alleged that instead of pistachio, the ice cream had “pistachio flavoring,” made up of “water, ethanol, propylene, glycol, natural & artificial flavor, yellow 5 [and] blue 1.”
“Had she known that the product did not contain pistachio, she would not have purchased it, or
would have paid significantly less for it,” the woman’s lawyers wrote in the court filings.
The Post has reached out to Kahala Brands for comment.
Last week, Gary R. Brown, a federal judge at the Eastern District Court of New York in Brooklyn, ruled that the class-action suit can move forward.
The judge wrote that the “delightful dispute…raises a deceptively complex question about the reasonable expectations” of those ordering pistachio ice cream.
He even noted that “archeological evidence suggests that humans have been snacking on pistachios since the Bronze Age” and that ice cream “was likely crafted by Europeans in the 1600s and also has ancient forebears enjoyed by King Solomon, Alexander the Great and Emperor Nero.”
Brown ruled that the “crossroad between these celebrated treats” is worth investigating in court, though it’s unclear when the case will go to trial.
“Should consumers ordering pistachio ice cream at one of defendant’s establishments expect that that product will contain actual pistachios? And if the answer is no, should that leave them with a bitter aftertaste?” he wrote.
The New York woman compiled a survey of more than 400 US consumers, and more than 85% believed that ice cream labeled “pistachio” would contain pistachios, according to the ruling.
Mango, coconut, mint, orange and butter pecan ice cream, as well as orange sorbet, were also named in the lawsuit, but Brown said the lawsuit will only focus on pistachio, since that’s the only flavor with sufficient evidence brought forward by the plaintiff.
There’s been a trend of items recently being pulled due to mislabeling.
PepsiCo recently recalled Schweppes Zero Sugar Ginger Ale after the brand found it was full of sugar.
The brand also recalled over 2,000 cases of Mug Root Beer after it was reported the cans actually contained Mug Zero Sugar root beer.
