No Wasabi in 7-Eleven ‘Wasabi Delight’ Snacks, Lawsuit Says

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven Inc. tricks consumers of its private-label 7-Select “Wasabi Delight Flavored Snack Mix,” because there is no wasabi, a new proposed class action in a New York federal court alleges.

Wasabi is valued for its nutritive and antioxidant properties and its distinctive taste, New Yorker Oscar Ithier alleges in a suit filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Many companies, including 7-Eleven, seek to capitalize on an increasing demand for wasabi snacks, the suit alleges.

The back label of the package reads, “Our 7-Select Wasabi Delight Flavored Snack Mix is the kick you’ve been looking for! Loaded with cranberries, nuts and even crunchy wasabi peanuts, this snack mix is snacking ... elevated,” Ithier says.

The product’s name and package images—including a pair of chopsticks holding a wasabi pea—tell consumers the snack will contain some wasabi, the suit alleges.

Brightly colored images of wasabi peas and peanuts “further the false impression,” Ithier alleges.

But the ingredient list shows wasabi’s absence, he alleges.

The list includes two “wasabi” ingredients—crunchy wasabi peanuts and wasabi green peas, he says.

The peanuts, though, contain “wasabi seasoning,” which in turn consists of wasabi powder made with maltodextrin and mustard seed—not wasabi, he alleges.

And the wasabi green peas get their taste from artificial wasabi flavor, not wasabi, the suit alleges.

Real wasabi tastes bright and pungent with a touch of quickly fading heat. Fake “wasabi” burns much hotter and longer because it is made from horseradish and mustard, the suit says.

Causes of Action: New York General Business Law §§ 349 & 350 (consumer protection statutes); other states’ consumer protection laws; breach of express warranty; breach of implied warranty of merchantability; Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act; negligent misrepresentation; fraud; unjust enrichment.

Relief: Injunctive relief; statutory damages; punitive damages; attorneys’ fees and costs.

Potential Class Size: Unknown number of persons in New York and multistate classes.

Response: 7-Eleven didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Attorneys: Sheehan & Associates PC represents the plaintiff.

The case is Ithier v. 7-Eleven, Inc., S.D.N.Y., No. 7:21-cv-09405, complaint 11/14/21.