Category: Issue 401
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Ongoing E. Coli Investigation Implicates Egyptian Fenugreek
The European Union (EU) has temporarily prohibited the importation of some seeds and bean sprouts from Egypt after a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report linked the products to an E. coli O104:H4 outbreak that reportedly killed 51 people, including as many as six U.S. citizens. According to a July 5, 2011, EU press release,…
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Radioactive Beef Confirmed in Japan
Japanese officials have reportedly confirmed that beef registering up to seven times more radioactive cesium than permitted has entered the food supply, raising concerns among consumers about the country’s safety precautions. The first batch of tainted beef apparently came from six cattle farmed within 18 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was…
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New York Times Covers GE Bluegrass Controversy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) recent decision to exempt genetically engineered (GE) Kentucky bluegrass from federal approval has reportedly stirred debate over how the agency regulates biotech crops, with some critics calling the outcome “a blatant end-run around regulatory oversight.” According to a July 1, 2011, press release, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection…
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AP Highlights Legislator Resistance to Food Ad Limits
“House Republicans are siding with food companies resisting the Obama administration’s efforts to pressure them to stop advertising junk food for children,” writes Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in a July 6, 2011, article examining the efforts of individual legislators to stymie proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) food marketing guidelines. According to Jalonick, while food companies…
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Antitrust Laws Implicated When Competing Supermarkets Agree to Share Revenues During Labor Dispute
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided en banc ruling, has determined that while an agreement between competitors to share revenues during a labor dispute is not immune from antitrust laws, the district court properly denied a challenge to an agreement between California supermarkets as a per se violation of the Sherman Act…
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Recently Filed Lawsuits: Death in a Chocolate Factory, Demand for Documents in NYC “Man Drinking Fat” Ads, New Claims That Wesson Oil Is Not “100% Natural”
The parents of a 29-year-old who died after he fell into a vat of chocolate have filed a wrongful death action in a Pennsylvania state court against the company that owned the plant where he worked and a number of other defendants involved in manufacturing the allegedly faulty equipment that purportedly led to the accident.…
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Recent Court Developments: BPA, Nutella® and Alaskan Fishing Regulations Litigation
A multidistrict litigation court in Missouri has denied motions for class certification in 24 transferred cases against companies that make baby bottles and sippy cups allegedly containing bisphenol A (BPA). In re: Bisphenol-A (BPA) Polycarbonate Plastic Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1967 (W.D. Mo., decided July 5, 2011). The plaintiffs sought to certify various classes, including…
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Bahamas Bans Shark Fishing
The Bahamas Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources has reportedly announced its decision to prohibit all commercial shark fishing in its waters, citing a shark tourism industry that generates $80 million in revenue each year. According to media reports, the ban would encompass 240,000 square miles and protect approximately 40 shark species present in the…