Italy's 'No. 1 brand of pasta' faces a class-action lawsuit over its products that are made in Iowa and New York

• A judge has ruled that pasta brand Barilla must face a class-action lawsuit over its advertising.
• Although styled as "Italy's No. 1 brand of pasta," its products are made in Iowa and New York.

A federal judge has ruled that Barilla, styled as "Italy's No. 1 brand of pasta," must face a class-action lawsuit that alleges false or deceptive advertising.

The judge decided that customers could be misled by the phrase "Italy's No.1 brand of pasta" and believe its products are made in Italy, court documents show.

Although the company originated as a bread and pasta shop in Italy, Barilla is now based in Illinois. Its products are made in Iowa and New York. They do not exclusively use Italian wheat, the lawsuit alleged.

In the original complaint, Matthew Sinatro and Jessica Prost alleged that Barilla pasta's branding used false, misleading, and deceptive marking practices. The blue boxes used by the company say "Italy's No.1 brand of pasta" and feature the green, red, and white colors of the Italian flag.

The lawsuit alleges that the company sought to take advantage of the fact the plaintiffs were willing to pay more for pasta products that were from Italy.

The plaintiffs said they purchased multiple boxes of Barilla spaghetti and angel hair pasta due to the belief that the products were made in Italy from Italian ingredients.

The pair accused the company of making the pasta look and sound authentically Italian while "cutting costs and reaping the financial benefits of manufacturing the products in the United States of America," per court documents.

Representatives for Barilla did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.