One disgruntled California man is looking for some serious cheese, as he is suing McDonald's for $5 million in a class action lawsuit on the grounds that the cheese in the fast food chain's mozzarella sticks aren't "real."
Chris Howe, the plaintiff named in the case, filed the lawsuit against McDonald's on Jan. 29, reported The Atlanta Journal Constitution. He's seeking $5 million in damages for himself and on behalf of 40 others who paid $1.27 for the fake mozzarella.
The complaint accuses McDonald's of using starch additives and other filler ingredients instead of the authentic mozzarella depicted in its ads and promised in packaging. In fact, court documents filed by Howe allege that the sticks were tested and found to contain more water and starch than federal food labeling laws allow.
"Its reasons for doing so are self-evident: inserting filler in its Sticks allows McDonald's to save money and increase its profit," the complaint reads.
Howe expressed his anger over the fake cheese debacle, saying that he would never paid $1.27 for the mozzarella sticks on Christmas Ever last year if he had known about the cheese additives, CNN reported.
McDonald's isn't taking the accusations lying down, however, and has since fired back with a response to the lawsuit, saying "our mozzarella cheese sticks are made with 100% low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese. We intend to defend ourselves vigorously against these allegations," according to Fox News.
This isn't the first time McDonald's has come under fire for its mozzarella sticks. Customers complained last week about receiving mozzarella sticks sans the mozzarella.
