Woman sues Cold Stone Creamery over pistachio ice cream not containing pistachios

A popular ice cream chain is facing a lawsuit over deceptive advertising after a Long Island woman discovered its pistachio ice cream may not actually contain pistachios.

Jenna Marie Duncan of Farmingdale, New York filed the class action lawsuit against Cold Stone Creamery saying she purchased pistachio ice cream from a Cold Stone location in Levittown, New York in July 2022 and "reasonably believed that the pistachio ice cream she purchased from defendant contained pistachio."

However, Duncan later learned on the company's website that there were no pistachios in the ice cream, but rather "pistachio flavoring" that consisted of water, ethanol, propylene glycol, natural and artificial flavor, Yellow 5 and Blue 1, according to the lawsuit.

A document of ice cream ingredients found on Cold Stone's website shows the pistachio ice cream containing "pistachio flavoring."

Woman says she wouldn't have purchased the ice cream

The lawsuit claims that had Duncan known the product did not contain pistachios, she "would not have purchased it, or would have paid significantly less for it."

"When consumers purchase pistachio ice cream, they expect pistachios, not a concoction of processed ingredients," Duncan says in the lawsuit, while also noting that other ice cream makers such as Häagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry's, both include actual pistachios in their ice cream.

The lawsuit also claims that Cold Stone's mango, coconut, mint, orange and butter pecan ice cream flavors, as well as its orange sorbet flavor, "are merely flavored after their named ingredients," which Duncan says "is not what consumers expect."

The defendant in the case is Kahala Franchising LLC, a company that owns franchises of chains such as Cold Stone Creamery, Wetzel's Pretzels, Baja Fresh and Blimpie, among others.

According to the lawsuit, Kahala has sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that a detailed list of the ice cream ingredients are listed online.

USA TODAY has reached out to Kahala for comment.

Lawsuit can move forward, judge says

A federal judge in New York has allowed the class action lawsuit against Cold Stone Creamery to move forward.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary R. Brown wrote in his ruling that the case "raises a deceptively complex question about the reasonable expectations of plaintiff and like-minded ice cream aficionados."

"Should consumers ordering pistachio ice cream at one of defendant's establishments expect that that product will contain actual pistachios? And if the answer is no, should that leave them with a bitter aftertaste?" Brown wrote in his ruling.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.