Category: Issue 372
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Rudd Center Publishes Report on Food Marketing to Children
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has issued a November 2010 report claiming that “children as young as age 2 are seeing more fast food ads than ever before.” Titled Fast Food F.A.C.T.S.: Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score, the report purportedly evaluated “the marketing efforts of 12 of the nation’s largest…
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Holly Pauling Smith and Madeleine McDonough, “A New Frontier: Health-Claims Class Actions,” The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Class & Group Actions 2011”
Shook, Hardy & Bacon Global Product Liability Partner Holly Pauling Smith and Agribusiness & Food Safety Co-Chair Madeleine McDonough have co-authored this chapter on the consumer-fraud class actions to which plaintiffs’ lawyers have resorted given their inability to persuade courts to certify personal-injury mass torts. The chapter, which focuses on recent cases involving health-related claims…
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EPA’s Authority to Allow More Ethanol in Gasoline Challenged
A coalition of major farm, food and fuel industry trade groups has reportedly filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) decision to allow gasoline with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) to be sold for vehicles made in the 2007 model year or later. The…
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Washington State Issues Temporary Ban on Alcoholic Energy Drinks
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) has passed a resolution to temporarily “prevent the further sale and distribution of malt beverage products containing caffeine and other stimulants.” Washington Governor Christine Gregoire (D) joined WSLCB in announcing the measure, citing reports that nine Central Washington University students “became dangerously ill” after consuming alcoholic energy drinks (AEDs).…
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EU Legal Services Opinion Could Deal Blow to Proposed GM Laws
According to media sources, the EU Council of Ministers’ Legal Service has expressed “strong doubts” about the feasibility of a proposal that would allow individual member states to set their own policies for regulating genetically modified (GM) crops. The opinion has reportedly raised questions about whether the legislation would violate World Trade Organization rules, especially…
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International Panel Deems Food Main Source of BPA Exposure
An international panel of experts has identified food as “by far the main source of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure,” although levels of chemical in the human body are “very low” and quickly eliminated through urine. The World Health Organization (WHO) and U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) announced the findings after more than 30 experts…
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Collaboration Needed to Reduce Risk of Animal-Related Diseases
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released an 88-page report that claims better collaboration is needed among the four federal agencies overseeing live animal imports to reduce the risk of animal-related diseases coming into the United States. According to GAO, more than 1 billion live animals were imported into America from 2005 through 2008, but…