Junior Mints Candy Manufacturer Sued For 'Underfilling' Boxes

A new lawsuit filed against the manufacturer of Junior Mints candy alleged that its boxes are under-filled.

Biola Daniel filed a lawsuit in October against Tootsie Roll Industries, the manufacturer of the mint-filled chocolate candy through the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, according to Delish. Daniel's lawsuit reportedly claimed that a box of Junior Mints she purchased at Duane Reade for $1.49 contained roughly 40 percent air. Two additional individuals, being Abel Duran and Trekeela Perkins, have also taken part in the lawsuit.

The boxes "slack-fill," a term that refers to the air inside of a box, was being blamed for the reduced amount of candy plaintiffs allegedly received.

"The size of the product's boxes in comparison to the volume of the candy contained therein makes it appear to plaintiff and class members that they are buying more than what is actually being sold," Daniel's 36-page lawsuit read, according to USA Today. "Plaintiff and class members are denied the benefit of their bargain because they pay for full boxes of the product but actually receive far less."

Slack-fill is used within candy boxes as a form of protection and as a way to avoid product settlement during shipping, according to the U.S. Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The plaintiffs asserted the extra space isn't beneficial to the overall product as Junior Mints have more air than other candy brands' boxes, however.

"Each Product contains a standardized amount of candy that only fills a small portion of each box, such that each box is underfilled," the revised suit read Jan. 2, according to Delish. "The size of each product box is disproportionately large in comparison to the quantity of candy within, falsely conveying to consumers that each box contains more candy than it does."

This isn't the first case of its kind. Candymakers Hershey Co., Nestlé and Just Born faced lawsuits in 2017 for allegedly selling underfilled boxes of candy to consumers. Barilla, an Italian food maker best known for its pasta, also faced scrutiny for allegedly distributing half-empty boxes.

While there is a spike in this type of lawsuit, very few wins occur, Law 360 reported. A case against Muscle Milk distributor CytoSport Inc. was dismissed by judges in 2016, for example. The lawsuit was tossed despite allegations that the products slack-fill were non-functioning in a customer's Muscle Milk protein powder container.

A representative for Tootsie Roll Industries did not immediately return International Business Times request for comment.