Category: Issue 375
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Dannon Agrees to Pay States $21 Million to Resolve Advertising Issues
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the settlement of allegations that The Dannon Co. exaggerated the health benefits of its Activia® yogurt and DanActive® dairy beverage. Under the terms of the settlement, Dannon does not admit any law violations, but agrees to stop promoting its yogurt as a product that relieves temporary irregularity or its…
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Court Approves Discovery and Motions Schedule in Pelman v. McDonald’s
A federal court in New York has entered an order approving the pre-trial discovery and motions scheduling order agreed to by the individual plaintiffs remaining in the litigation alleging that fast-food marketing caused adverse health effects related to obesity. Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp., No. 02-7821 (S.D.N.Y., order filed December 15, 2010). Under the terms of…
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Third Circuit Remands Pet Food MDL Settlement
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed, for the most part, with the resolution of multidistrict litigation claims against pet food manufacturers involving the melamine contamination and recall of their products in 2007. In re: Pet Food Prods. Liab. Litig., Nos. 08-4741 & 08-4779 (3d Cir., decided December 16, 2010). Further details about the settlement…
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Court Tosses Trans Fat Lawsuit Against Hostess, Claims Preempted
In a ruling left unchallenged when the appeal period expired, a federal court in California has determined that a plaintiff bringing state law claims about alleged misleading food labels involving trans fat were preempted by federal law and that he lacked standing as a consumer to bring a claim under the Lanham Act, which protects…
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Massachusetts Bans BPA in Baby Bottles, Sippy Cups
The Massachusetts Public Health Council has approved a ban on the production and sale of reusable plastic products containing bisphenol A (BPA) that are intended for children younger than age 3. Targeted mainly at baby bottles and sippy cups, the ban will reportedly take effect on January 1, 2011, for manufacturers and July 1 for…
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EPA Declares Saccharin No Longer a Potential Human Carcinogen
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final rule announcing that it has removed saccharin from its lists of hazardous substances, wastes and constituents because it “is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health.” EPA proposed on April 22, 2010, to remove the artificial sweetener from the lists, and apparently received…
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NRC Report Finds Little Benefit to Additional Meat Testing
A recent National Research Council (NRC) report has apparently found no scientific evidence to support “more stringent testing of meat purchased through the government’s ground beef purchase program,” which distributes products to the National School Lunch Program and other public outlets. According to a December 9, 2010, National Academies press release, the U.S. Department of…
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Commerce Department Releases Online Privacy Green Paper
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) has issued a green paper titled Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework, which sets forth initial policy recommendations for “promoting consumer privacy online while ensuring the Internet remains a platform that spurs innovation, job creation, and economic growth.” To…