7-05-2023 4:12am

HUNT VALLEY'S McCORMICK

A proposed class action claims McCormick & Company’s labeling of its El Guapo-brand New Mexico chile pods is misleading since the product is not grown or harvested in New Mexico.

The 12-page lawsuit says that although the chile pods are touted as “Authentic” and “The Original and Preferred For More than 30 Years,” the product does not contain genuine New Mexico chilies, a specific type of chili pepper grown only in New Mexico.

After the state issued the New Mexico Chile Advertising Act in 2011—which aimed to protect consumers from misleading marketing of inauthentic chile peppers—companies which have verified that their chili products are grown and packed in New Mexico have been licensed to use the state’s Certified Chile certification mark, the suit explains.

Although the product at issue features a front-label seal touting its authenticity, this stamp is not the official New Mexico Certified Chile certification mark but a “self-designated indication” purporting the product to be authentic, the case points out. Per the complaint, neither the El Guapo brand nor McCormick are licensed with the New Mexico Chile Association.

What’s more, the complaint argues that the fine-print statement on the back label which reads “Packed in USA” implies that the chili peppers are not from the United States but were imported from elsewhere.

The plaintiff, a New York resident, bought the product in the last few years and believed, based on the challenged representations, that he was buying authentic New Mexico chili peppers, the filing says. According to the case, the man would not have paid as much for the chile pods, or purchased them at all, had he known that they were not grown or harvested in New Mexico, as advertised.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in New York, South Dakota, Utah, Idaho or West Virginia who purchased El Guapo-brand New Mexico chile pods during the applicable statute of limitations period.