Burger King's 'rib' Whopper had no ribs — Brazil made it change the name

On May 3, 2022, Burger King Brasil announced it was renaming its Whopper Costela (rib) sandwich to Whopper Paleta Suína (pork shoulder), after consumers called out that the burger advertised as costela contained no rib meat. The company's statement leaned on transparency: it had always said the sandwich was made of pork shoulder 'with rib flavour, without any artificial ingredient', but conceded that 'the people's reaction is a very clear message. Time to listen, accept and act', apologising and changing the name immediately while keeping the recipe.

The day before, Procon-SP had notified the chain over suspected misleading advertising, demanding explanations, the nutritional table, quality-test records and copies of the ad campaigns for similar sandwiches 'with rib aroma'. Executive director Guilherme Farid said the agency was worried about food ads 'highlighting a specific ingredient that is not part of the product's composition', and an adverse finding could cost up to R$11.6M. In the federal district, Procon banned sales outright until the advertising was corrected, on pain of fines, seizure or store interdiction.

The scandal spread beyond one sandwich: the Senate moved to summon Burger King and McDonald's to explain misleading sandwich advertising, and McDonald's said its McPicanha — picanha being another cut the sandwich didn't really contain — would return to the menu under a new name.

A misleading-advertising notification in São Paulo with fines up to R$11.6M possible, a sales ban in the federal district, and a forced nationwide rename.

The product name named a cut of meat the recipe didn't include, and the defence — 'rib flavour' — only underlined the gap.

Two state consumer agencies moved within days, one with a potential R$11.6M fine and one with a sales ban, before any national regulator did.

The rename kept the product and the margins while conceding the advertising point, a pattern McDonald's then had to repeat with McPicanha.

Naming a product after an ingredient it doesn't contain is a claim, not a vibe — and 'flavour of X' on the box won't survive contact with a consumer agency.

The sandwich stayed on menus as Whopper Paleta Suína, with BK's statement insisting the composition was unchanged; Burger King faced the Senate's questions on sandwich advertising alongside McDonald's, whose McPicanha returned with a new name in the same wave of renamed sandwiches.