Category: Issue 421
-
Federal Court Issues Ruling on Jurisdiction in Food Packaging Dispute
A federal court in Georgia has determined that it has personal jurisdiction over a Michigan food-packaging company that was sued as a third party defendant in litigation over a recalled baby food product. IPN USA Corp. v. Nurture, Inc., No. 11-501 (N.D. Ga., decided December 12, 2011). A Food and Drug Administration investigation apparently concluded that…
-
APHIS Reopens Comment Period for Proposed Amendments to Bioterrorism Protection Act
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has reopened the comment period until January 17, 2012, on a proposed rule that would amend and republish the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act’s “list of selected agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or…
-
Agency IG Chastises FDA for Lax Food-Facility Inspection Oversight
The Office of Inspector General (IG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a report that “identified significant weaknesses in FDA’s [the Food and Drug Administration’s] oversight” of its contracts for state inspections of food facilities. In recent years, FDA has increasingly shifted to the states its responsibility for conducting inspections,…
-
Senators Urge FDA to Declare Gulf Seafood Safe
Eight U.S. Senators have urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “publicly and vigorously” defend the safety of Gulf seafood in the wake of last year’s oil spill. Led by Senator David Vitter (R-La.), the lawmakers signed a December 1, 2011, letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg asserting that although “rigorous testing” has revealed…
-
Ohio Lawmaker Introduces GE Bill Package
Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has introduced a package of bills that would require foods with genetically engineered (GE) ingredients to provide that information on product labels (H.R. 3553); affect how GE pharmaceutical and industrial crops are grown, while establishing a tracking system from cultivation to disposal (H.R. 3554); and protect farmers and ranchers from economic…
-
Court Recognizes Severe Obesity as Disability Under ADA
Denying an employer’s motions for summary judgment in an employment discrimination suit, a federal court in Louisiana has determined that severe obesity, regardless of its basis, qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. EEOC v. Res. for Human Dev., Inc., No. 10-03322 (E.D. La., decided December 7, 2011). The court did not…