Fast food chains frequently face scrutiny regarding the quality of their offerings, even though they are subjected to strict quality checks. Customers often express their grievances about the food they purchase from well-known outlets and chains. One such incident involved a US resident named Frank Siragusa, who had a highly dissatisfying experience at a Taco Bell outlet in New York City. According to a report by Reuters, in September of last year, Mr. Siragusa purchased a $5.49 Mexican pizza but found that it did not contain the same amount of meat filling as advertised by Taco Bell.
On Monday, Ridgewood resident Frank Siragusa filed a class-action suit in Brooklyn federal court, accusing Taco Bell of engaging in “false advertising” of its products. The lawsuit targeted menu items such as the Mexican Pizza, Crunchwrap Supreme, Grande Crunchwrap, and Vegan Crunchwrap. According to Siragusa’s claims, the advertised menu items appeared to contain “at least double” their actual content. To support his case, he presented photographic evidence in the lawsuit, showcasing a wrap filled with meat, cheese, red and green vegetables as depicted in the advertisements, while the real counterpart served did not match up to those expectations.
“Taco Bell’s actions are especially concerning now that inflation, food, and meat prices are very high and many consumers, especially lower-income consumers, are struggling financially,” the lawsuit states as per USA Today.
“Taco Bell advertises larger portions of food to steer consumers to their restaurants for their meals and away from competitors that more fairly advertise the size of their menu items, unfairly diverting millions of dollars in sales that would have gone to competitors.”
As of now, Taco Bell has not issued a response to the lawsuit. In the meantime, Frank Siragusa is seeking compensation from the chain for all the customers who bought the implicated items in New York State within the last three years following July 31, 2020. The total amount sought for compensation comes to at least $5 million or approximately INR 41.2 crores.
