McDonald's is being sued by a California man who claims its new breaded cheese sticks are made of fake mozzarella. Last month he filed a federal class action lawsuit against the fast food chain, seeking $5 million in damages for himself and 40 other customers who he claims were tricked into believing they were ordering a product with real cheese.
BuzzFeed reported the suit earlier. The complaint by Chris Howe argues that McDonald's ads show real mozzarella cheese, but the menu item has "filler" ingredients such as starch additives, including to CNN. Howe's lawsuit claims that 3.76 of the of the Sticks' cheese portion was starch filler.
The complaint filed against the fast food giant on January 29 states its reasons for taking that action are clear. It claims fillers were added to the Sticks to cut costs and boost its profits.
Howe's lawsuit claims McDonald's mozzarella sticks were lab tested. They reportedly contained more starch and water than permitted by federal food-labeling laws.
However, the court documents are missing a key detail. They do not state who conducted the testing on the cheese sticks.
The lawsuit claims "cheap substitute" ingredients were added to the cheese sticks to create the appearance of a thicker and cheesier product. This was reportedly done to trick consumers.
An image from the complaint shows the testing method for the cheese sticks. A sample was taken from the core to test the central filling that the company claims is made of mozzarella.
McDonald's website states that the cheese sticks are made of 100 percent real mozzarella cheese. The cheese itself has up to 2 percent additives including food starch and modified potato.
Howe ordered a 3-piece serving of the mozzarella cheese sticks on Christmas Eve 2015. It cost him $1.27.
The world's second largest fast food chain responded to the lawsuit via a statement. It claimed its cheese sticks are made with 100 percent "low moisture part skim mozzarella" and the company will defend itself against Howe's lawsuit.
McDonald's also reported last December it was testing custom-made burgers in Southern California restaurants, according to CNBC. It allows customers to choose beef or crispy/grilled chicken, a bun or potato/artisan roll, and a topping.
Here's how to make mozzarella cheese: