The Campbell Soup Company has confirmed it has parted ways with a high-ranking executive after a lawsuit alleged he was secretly recorded making disparaging remarks about the company’s products and the very customers who buy them.
The now-former Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, Martin Bally, is no longer employed at the company, according to a statement from Campbell’s. The controversy erupted after a former employee filed a Michigan lawsuit that included an explosive, hours-long audio recording. In the recording, a voice allegedly belonging to Bally can be heard referring to Campbell’s products as food for “poor people.” The comments have sparked a public relations crisis for the iconic 156-year-old food giant.
The lawsuit was filed by Robert Garza, a former cybersecurity analyst, who claims he was terminated in January 2025 in retaliation for reporting the executive’s conduct to a supervisor. Garza alleges he recorded the conversation with Bally during a meeting in November 2024, which was originally intended to discuss his salary.
The alleged recording contains a tirade that went beyond mocking customers. Bally is also accused of making racially offensive comments about Indian coworkers, which the lawsuit claims contributed to a racially hostile work environment. Furthermore, the executive allegedly criticized the company’s products, at one point claiming he barely bought them because they were “not healthy” and suggesting the chicken used in the soups was “bioengineered meat” or came “from a 3D printer.”
Campbell Soup Co. has taken a firm stance on the matter. While the company stated it believes the recording to be legitimate, it immediately and unequivocally apologized for the content. “The comments were vulgar, offensive and false, and we apologize for the hurt they have caused,” the company said in a public statement. They emphasized that this behavior does not reflect their corporate values and that such language would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
The company also strongly pushed back against the alarming claims about its ingredients, which, if true, would have serious implications for consumer trust. Campbell’s affirmed that its soups use “100% real chicken” sourced from trusted, USDA-approved U.S. suppliers. They categorically denied using any form of “3D-printed chicken, lab-grown chicken, or any form of artificial or bioengineered meat” in their products, calling the executive’s claims “patently absurd.”
The fallout from the recording has escalated beyond a simple internal HR matter. Florida’s Consumer Protection division has reportedly opened an investigation into the quality of Campbell’s products as a direct result of the claims made in the recording. This comes at a sensitive time for the brand, which recently navigated a challenging market that saw a slight miss in fourth-quarter revenue expectations, despite reporting overall sales growth.
For Robert Garza, the former employee who brought the allegations to light, the lawsuit seeks compensation for emotional, reputational, and economic harm, alleging that he was punished for reporting misconduct rather than being thanked. The legal battle, filed in Michigan, will now proceed, casting a spotlight on workplace culture and executive accountability in the corporate food industry.
