Getting heated up over hot sauce and cheese snacks

Online reviews typically satisfy the appetite of unhappy consumers who want to make public their grievances.

Yet, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform’s 2022 list of the most ridiculous lawsuits reveals, sometimes the pain — over hot sauce, microwave mac and cheese, or honey mustard, as examples — is just too big.

Fifteen pages of legalese and more than 80 points to consider is more like it, as is the case against Herrs Foods Inc., which was sued over its Jalapeno Poppers-flavored cheese curls and deceptive packaging featuring pictures of jalapeños and cheese when really the seasoning contains artificial flavors.

Other contenders — there are 12 total — for the most ridiculous lawsuits included a lawsuit from a woman suing Kraft Heinz Co. because she says Velveeta’s microwaveable mac and cheese cups are not “ready in three and a half minutes” and a lawsuit against the makers of Texas Pete hot sauces over packaging that features the Texas flag when its products are made in North Carolina.