Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Issue 403

  • Fast-Food Customers Who Read Calorie Postings Make Lower-Calorie Selections

    The British Medical Journal has published a study that sought to “assess the impact of fast food restaurants adding calorie labeling to menu items on the energy content of individual purchases.” According to the researchers, including an independent consultant and a city official, the more than 8,400 adults interviewed in 2009 did not overall purchase…

  • Mark Bittman, “Irradiation and the ‘Ick Factor,’” The New York Times, July 26, 2011

    “The big question is this: How do we get the safest and most ethical food system possible while adequately feeding ourselves?,” asks New York Times columnist Mark Bittman in this latest opinion piece supporting “a massive overhaul of the food system.” Discussing recent E. coli outbreaks in Europe, Bittman concedes that the controversial process known…

  • IOM Publishes Summary of Food Technology and Obesity Workshop

    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released the summary of a November 2-3, 2010, public workshop titled “Leveraging Food Technology for Obesity Prevention and Reduction Effort,” which addressed how the food industry “can continue to leverage modern and innovative food processing technologies to influence energy intake.” According to IOM, “Eating is impacted not only by…

  • NAD & CARU Announce 2011 Annual Conference

    The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) have announced the agendas for their joint 2011 annual conferences slated for October 3-5, 2011, in New York. The two-day NAD conference, “What’s New in Advertising Law, Claim Support and Self-Regulation,” will include keynote remarks by…

  • Texan Alleges Four Loko® Caused His Stroke

    A 33-year-old man has filed a personal injury lawsuit in a Texas federal court against companies that made and sold the Four Loko® that allegedly caused the stroke he had in October 2010 immediately after consuming two cans of the caffeinated alcohol beverage. Villa v. Phusion Projects, LLC, No. __ (S.D. Texas, filed mid-July 2010).…

  • Putative Class Claims Fraud in Muscle Milk® Advertising

    A California woman has filed a putative nationwide class action against the company that makes Muscle Milk® beverages and protein bars, alleging that promotions touting the products as “high performance” and “nutritious snacks” are false and misleading because they contain as much fat and calories as Krispy Kreme® doughnuts. Delacruz v. Cytosport, Inc., No. 11-3532…

  • OEHHA Requests Input on Prioritizing BPA Under Prop. 65 Procedures

    California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has announced that its Carcinogen Identification Committee will discuss whether 39 chemicals should be prioritized “for possible preparation of hazard identification materials” during the committee’s October 12-13, 2011, meeting. While no decision will be made at this meeting about adding the chemicals to California’s Proposition 65…

  • EU to Tighten Bacon Labeling Rules

    The European Union (EU) has reportedly introduced new rules that would halve the percentage of added water allowed in bacon products labeled as such. According to media sources, current laws set the added water limit for bacon at 10 percent, but the updated measure would require bacon containing more than 5 percent added water to…