Dunkin’ Donuts Settles Lawsuit Over Fake Butter

A few years ago, Boston-area Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees were sued for spreading baked goods with margarine when a customer had requested butter. The courts have ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Jan Polanik, according to the Boston Globe. An undisclosed settlement was reached, and Dunkin’ Donuts now carries butter packets for customers that don’t want the fake stuff. Polanik’s attorney Thomas Shapiro clarified that his client’s butter preferences weren’t the most pressing issue: “The main point of the lawsuit is to stop the practice of representing one thing and selling a different thing. It’s a minor thing, but at the same time, if somebody goes in and makes a point to order butter for the bagel . . . they don’t want margarine or some other kind of chemical substitute.” For what it’s worth, McDonald’s is still using real butter on its Egg McMuffins.

Beleaguered burrito chain Chipotle’s comeback plan is more or less on track, but at least one demographic isn’t willing to forgive the company for the E. coli and norovirus outbreaks of 2015-2016: According to one restaurant analyst, millennial moms still haven’t gone back to Chipotle. "[The moms] have found other options in the fast-casual space — healthier options,” said analyst R.J. Hottovy; Panera and Sweetgreen seem to be profiting from the situation. “It’s going to take a lot of promotional activity to bring [these moms] back,” according to Hottovy.

A new study from Cardiff University in Wales suggests that if coffee shops charged for paper and plastic coffee cups — in the same way some retailers charge for plastic bags — the annual number of disposable coffee cups currently used in the UK, an estimated 2.5 billion, “could be cut by up to 300 million coffee cups.” The study’s lead professor wrote: “Our results show that, on average, the use of reusable coffee cups could be increased by up to 12.5%.” The findings have been submitted to the UK government for consideration.

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