‘The Big Cheese’ sues Chubb for $1.2M over moldy mozzarella

Anthony “The Big Cheese” Mongiello is demanding $1.2 million from Chubb Insurance for losses his cheese company sustained when Sam’s Club withdrew contaminated Caprese Salad Kits from the market.

Mongiello’s Italian Cheese Specialties Inc., doing business as Formaggio in Hurleyville, Sullivan County, accused Chubb of unfair business practices in a complaint filed Sept. 29 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.

Formaggio has been combining mozzarella with vegetables, herbs, meats and other items, according to the complaint, and selling to national retailers for more than 30 years.

Mongiello depicts himself on Formaggio’s website as a product creator, trendsetter, innovator, award-winning cheesemaker and descendant of notable cheesemakers. His father, Anthony Sr., invented a machine to replace the laborious handmade process of making mozzarella. His grandfather, Lorenzo, developed canning for ricotta cheese in 1925.

The Big Cheese himself takes credit for inventing stuffed crust pizza.

Formaggio began marketing the Caprese Salad Kit exclusively with Sam’s Club in March 2021.

The kit consisted of separate sealed trays with mozzarella mixed with garlic, herbs and oil on one side and roasted tomatoes from an outside supplier and marinated by Formaggio on the other side.

Three months later, June 2021, Formaggio began receiving complaints about bloated kits leaking on the tomato side. Sam’s Club withdrew the kits from its stores and warehouses and cancelled future orders.

A food laboratory hired by Formaggio detected mold and yeast in the tomatoes tray.

The contamination was not a result of natural deterioration or decomposition and the trays had not reached their use-by-date, the complaint states.

The mold or yeast caused the tomatoes to ferment and generate carbon dioxide that in turn caused the packaging to expand, rupture and leak.

The cheese trays, Formaggio claims, were never found to be contaminated.

No known injuries were traced to contaminated kits, Formaggio says, but the mold and yeast can harm people.

Formaggio was insured for up to $2 million by Chubb’s Westchester Surplus Lines recall policy for consumable products.

The policy includes coverage for voluntary product recalls or market withdrawals by retailers, wholesalers and distributors, according to the complaint.

Last year Chubb denied a claim for compensation, stating in part that it “cannot be sure whether the yeast and the mold… may be attributed to the potential ‘insured event.'”

Formaggio submitted a detailed chronology and explanation to refute Chubb’s denial, the complaint states, but Chubb still refused to honor the claim.

The Big Cheese is asking the court to declare that Chubb must cover Formaggio’s losses and award $1.2 million.

Chubb did not respond to email requests for its side of the story.

Formaggio is represented by Manhattan attorney John J. Appell.