If you’ve ever tossed a box of pasta into your cart thinking it was straight from Italy, you might be part of a class action lawsuit in Quebec that’s been authorized.
A class action settlement could be in the works, and residents across the province could get a payout if they bought pasta from a popular brand labelled as “Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta,” which may not have been made in Italy at all.
A Quebec class action lawsuit has been launched against Barilla Canada Inc., the company behind the popular pasta brand known for proudly claiming to be “Italy’s #1 Brand of Pasta.”
The issue? Many of the Barilla pasta products sold in Canada — including those featuring the Italian flag and Italian-language branding — were actually made in North America using North American ingredients.
The lawsuit says this could have misled customers into believing they were buying an authentic Italian product, and that kind of marketing might not fly under Quebec’s consumer protection laws.
A box of Barilla pasta with the tagline “Italy’s No. 1 Brand of Pasta.”Barilla Canada
Anyone in Quebec who bought Barilla pasta products with that famous label since October 24, 2019, is automatically included in the class.
That means you could be eligible for compensation if the court rules in favour of the plaintiff or a settlement is approved. And while there’s no payout yet, the case is moving forward — with Barilla set to defend itself in Montreal’s Superior Court soon.
Although there’s nothing you need to do to stay included, there’s a deadline coming up if you’d rather opt out and reserve your right to pursue your own legal action outside this class action suit. If you don’t want to be part of the class action, you have one month left to opt out. You’ll need to send your notice by May 22, 2025.
For now, Quebecers just have to wait and see if this class action lawsuit will boil over into real cash. And if it does, even a small reimbursement might make that next plate of spaghetti taste just a little bit better.
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