Goya Accused Of The Old Octopus Bait and Switch

According to a report from Business Insider, a lawsuit has been filed in California against Goya Foods, Inc., the largest Hispanic-owned U.S. food company, alleging that the company has been selling canned octopus products that actually contain canned squid. Apparently, independent DNA testing has confirmed the alleged cephalopod bait and switch. The lawsuit was filed by Plaintiff Luis Diego Zapata Fonseca on behalf of purchasers of Goya canned octopus in garlic sauce, hot sauce, pickled sauce, or olive oil, and seeks $5 million in damages.

We here at Abnormal Use do not know what is more surprising, that there is a market for canned octopus or that the suit was filed in the first place. We have eaten our fair share of canned food in our day and take no issue with the practice. However, we can’t imagine a world where octopus-in-a-can is acceptable. If there were ever a product we would assume should be served fresh, octopus would be it. Tentacles just don’t sound like they would take well to preservation. But, what do we know?

In any event, we acknowledge that it is probably deceptive to sell one animal product as another. Nonetheless, how much damage have consumers really sustained in this case? We are sure the most sophisticated palate could distinguish between octopus and squid, but we have serious doubts as to whether those people are actually buying canned octopus bathed in garlic sauce, hot sauce, pickled sauce, or olive oil. Our guess is that the average canned-octopus buyer can’t tell the difference between octopus and squid tentacles. In fact, the plaintiff in the lawsuit seems to acknowledge the same. In the complaint, Fonseca alleges that Goya “intentionally replaced the octopus in its octopus products with squid as a cheap substitute to save money because it knew an ordinary consumer would have trouble distinguishing the difference.” We are certain that we would fall squarely within that category.

As with many class actions, we predict this class action will be resolved with all class members receiving a voucher for a free, delicious canned octopus product of their choosing. Hopefully, they will then have an existential awakening about why they are eating garlic marinated octopus out of a can in the first place.

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