Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Issue 414

  • NYT Covers California’s “Adieu to Foie Gras”

    An October 15, 2011, New York Times article has covered the impending ban on foie gras sales in California, where several chefs are apparently staging swan-song dinners in honor of the fatty fare. According to the Times, a law signed eight years ago will in eight months make California the first state to criminalize foie…

  • Natural Food Store Launches GM-Free Labeling

    A natural foods co-op in Durango, Colorado, has reportedly rolled out a new labeling initiative for products free of genetically modified organisms (GMO) to recognize “October’s designation as national non-GMO month.” According to an October 19, 2011, article in The Durango Herald, the local co-op displays two labels on shelves to indicate products certified by…

  • “All Natural” Lawsuits Proliferate, But Recovery Could Be Elusive

    According to legal commentators, including Shook, Hardy & Bacon Agribusiness & Food Safety Practice Co-Chair Madeleine McDonough, while the floodgates have opened on litigation against food and beverage makers accusing them of misleading consumers with “All Natural” labels, proving that each plaintiff relied on the representation to purchase a given product may ultimately doom this…

  • Overstated Protein Content Claims Settled with Free Protein Bars for Class Members

    General Nutrition Centers Inc. and the company that makes 2:1 Protein Bars® have settled class claims filed in California alleging that the companies misbranded four flavors in the product line by “allegedly overstat[ing] their protein content and understat[ing] their sugar and carbohydrate content.” Cagle v. Anti-Aging Essentials, Inc., No. 11-02940 (C.D. Cal., motion for preliminary…

  • CSPI Alleges Fruit Roll-Ups® Maker Deceives Consumers

    The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is representing a California woman who has sued General Mills, Inc. on behalf of a putative nationwide class of consumers who purchased the company’s Fruit Roll-Ups®, Fruit by the Foot® and Fruit Gushers® products, claiming that the company deceptively markets them as healthy and wholesome. Lam…

  • Seventh Circuit Dismisses Non-Natural Fiber Claims with Prejudice

    The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed with prejudice consumer protection claims filed against two companies that make snack bars with extra fiber, finding the claims preempted under federal law. Turek v. General Mills, Inc., No. 10-3267 (7th Cir., decided October 17, 2011). According to the court, “The disclaimers that the plaintiff wants added…

  • Philadelphia Seeks Exemption from Preemption for Menu Labeling Ordinance

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently opened a docket pertaining to a petition filed by Philadelphia seeking to exempt from preemption a menu labeling ordinance that requires chain restaurants and retail food facilities in the city to provide calorie, fat and sodium information for the food and beverage products they sell. According to the…

  • California Agency Extends Comment Period on Change to 4-MEI No Significant Risk Level

    California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has extended the deadline for public comment on a proposal to increase the no significant risk level (NSRL) for 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) to November 7, 2011. The action was taken in response to a request from the American Beverage Association and International Technical Caramel Association. The chemical…