Ice company in hot water

One of the largest ice manufacturers in the United States is being sued over claims that the company’s seven-pound bags of ice actually weigh less than that, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Indiana resident Rick Pansiera filed his complaint in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati alleging that Green Township, Indiana-based Home City Ice Co. is knowingly shortchanging customers, according to the newspaper.

The company, operating in 18 states with a reported revenue of $199 million in 2020, has been aware its ice bags were "defective, mismarked, and over-priced, but chose to conceal, suppress, or omit these material facts while distributing, marketing, and selling the Ice Bags to unsuspecting consumers in Indiana, Ohio, and throughout the United States,” the suit alleges.

Mr. Pansiera, who weighed bags himself, included in court documents several letters from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection admonishing Home City regarding underweight ice bags. One of the letters stated, "9 out of 12 of your 7lb. ice packages were short an average of .201 pounds and had an average cost error of .07 cents,” the newspaper reported.