Nutella Spread Misled

Nutella is not a healthy food?  I’ve been spreading the stuff on all my food – Nutella and jelly sandwiches; Nutella and Rossi on the rocks; Nutella deviled eggs; Nutella dip for carrots and celery – pickles too; Nutella fondu; Nutella almond milkshakes; and my favorite, blob o Nutella on a spoon. Frankly, I’m outraged that the stuff is nothing more than chocolate goop.  I’ve been duped.

Of course, I could have read the label.  20 grams of sugar in a spoonful – that’s a couple of bowls of Lucky Charms cereal with extra marshmallows and sugar added.  No wonder I felt so strange after my Nutella and Red Bull breakfast.  At least I didn’t feed my four year old the stuff like the mother who filed the  lawsuit against Nutella maker Ferrero, the fine Italian chocolatier.  I actually don’t have a four year old and it was my 19 year who turned me onto the stuff.

Apparently, the mother, Athena Hohenberg, watched a TV ad for Nutella and was hypnotized by its wholesome ingredients and began feeding it to her young daughter on a daily basis.  When she finally realized Nutella was little more than a spreadable chocolate bar, she sued Ferrero and won.  Now the case has become a class-action lawsuit.

The TV ad may have been misleading, but the Nutella label did not hide its ingredients or the fact that it contained palm oil, and tons of sugar.  I can understand if the label did not make it clear that it had 20 grams of sugar per spoonful or serving.  Unsuspecting people might have believed 20 grams was for the whole jar.  On the other hand, I’m no expert on oils, but palm oil sounds recreational, if not healthy.  Notwithstanding the deceptive ad, misreading is not the same as misleading.