McDonald's is getting flack on social media for allegedly serving customers hollow mozzarella sticks, but the fast-food chain could be facing an even bigger problem now that it has been hit with a lawsuit over the authenticity of its cheese.
Eater.com reported that Chris Howe, lead plaintiff, and 40 other consumers have filed for $5 million in damages over McDonald's claims that the sticks contain "100 percent real cheese" and "real mozzarella."
"The sticks are filled with a substance that is composed (in part) of starch, in violation of the federal standards of identity for ‘mozzarella' cheese, and contrary to reasonable consumers' expectations regarding the meaning of the term ‘mozzarella,'" the suit alleges.
The complaint goes on to say Howe wouldn't have purchased the golden brown food items "if he had known they were misbranded and adulterated,"
BuzzFeed reported.
McDonald's vowed not to take the suit lying down.
"Our mozzarella cheese sticks are made with 100 percent low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese," it said in a statement. "We intend to defend ourselves vigorously against these allegations."
Fox News reported that the McDonald's website also claims the sticks are "made with 100 percent real and melty mozzarella cheese," and that the ingredients list says the cheese contains 2 percent or less of additives including starch.
These starch ratios were reportedly diagrammed and tested by Howe, who found the sticks actually contain "3.76 percent starch by weight."
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