The makers of Budweiser faced accusations on Tuesday of watering down the popular American lager in search of higher profits, in a class action lawsuit flatly rejected by the brewery. The beer-drinking plaintiffs alleged that Anheuser-Busch is violating consumer protection laws in California and Missouri by “falsely representing the alcohol content of the products it sells.
The lawsuit, which demands unspecified “compensatory damages” for anyone in the United States who has bought Budweiser products in the past five years, was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Friday.
“I think it’s wrong for huge corporations to lie to their loyal customers,” said one of the plaintiffs, Nina Giampaoli, in a press release Tuesday from the Mills Law Firm, one of two firms involved in the lawsuit.
“I really feel cheated. No matter what the product is, people should be able to rely on the information companies put on their labels.”
From its headquarters in Saint Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch -- a core unit of ABInBev, the globe-girdling Belgian-Brazilian brewing conglomerate -- rejected the allegations