The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation declined recently to consolidate three suits by plaintiffs who alleged Ferrero U.S.A. Inc. misrepresented Nutella hazelnut spread as a healthy and nutritious food. In re Nutella Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 2248 (J.P.M.L., 8/16/11).

We are always interested when the Panel declines to coordinate cases, but also have to admit that this is a favorite product in the MassTortDefense household. The spread, in its earliest form, was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which were plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy, to extend the chocolate supply. The region is mostly mountains and hills, on the north-western border of Italy with France and Switzerland.