Customer accuses Velveeta of false advertising

Photo by@carmennaaliyah/TikTok Billy F Blume Jr/ShutterStock Johanna Goodyear/ShutterStock

‘Apparently, Velveeta thinks I identify as a family of 5. Are the 5 people supposed to fight?’ Velveeta, you know better than this. In a viral video with more than half a million views, content creator Carmen Aaliyah (@carmennaaliyah) called out Velveeta for false advertising.

Aaliyah grabbed a container of Velveeta mac and cheese, which is packaged with a noodle packet, labeled as sufficient for a party of five.

However, upon opening the container, she found herself puzzled.

In it was a palm-size packet of elbow noodles.

“It’s giving five bites. This is not five people,” Aaliyah says in the clip. “This not feeding MY five people.”

The nutrition info on the Velveeta Skillet meal stated that one serving size would be about a cup full. That means the packet should make about five cups of pasta, but it seems to only be enough for maybe one cup.

In a follow-up video, Aaliyah addressed those who suggested she needed to fully cook the pasta to grasp the amount in the package.

Aaliyah prepared two boxes of the product, and it still appeared to be sufficient for perhaps just two individuals.

It appears these meal packs are designed for a single adult. If they're intended for five servings, the most reasonable explanation is that the servings are meant for actual toddlers.

In a post, Aaliyah mentioned that even after incorporating ground beef into the noodles (note she used two boxes, which should be enough for ten people, as per Velveeta), there wasn't enough to go around.

She had to skip eating so she could properly feed her four younger siblings.

Commenters joke about the quantity

“Me, myself, I, me, and I,” the top comment read.

“The only 5 people it’s feeding it’s the the 5 different personalities I have,” a person said.

“Is the 5 people supposed to fight? cause ….,” another wrote.

What is Velveeta?

Velveeta is a processed cheese known for its smooth, creamy feel and unique orange hue. It's often used in dishes that require a smooth cheese melt, such as macaroni and cheese, casseroles, and Tex-Mex queso.

It comes in a soft, moldable block and squeezable pouches. The block is the most flexible, as it can be grated, cut into cubes, or melted as needed for your recipe.

If you're unfamiliar, it tastes like American cheese.

What’s it made of?

Velveeta is made of whey, milk, milk protein concentrate, modified starch, canola oil, and cheese culture. Because of these ingredients and how it’s prepared, the Food and Drug Administration does not consider it to be real cheese, The Pioneer Woman reported.

Why was it invented?

It was invented more than a century ago, in 1918, by Swiss immigrant Emil Frey to prevent broken cheese wheels from going to waste.

“The organization sent cheese scraps to Frey to experiment with at home, and he found that by adding cheese byproducts like whey to the scraps, the end result was velvety in consistency,” Lora Vogt, food historian and curator at the World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo, told All Recipes. “Due to its velvety texture when melted, Frey named it Velveeta.”

Velveeta gained significant popularity during times of financial hardship, including the Great Depression and World War II, because it was usually more affordable and available in larger quantities compared to various other types of cheeses.