Category: Issue 445
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Kraft Calls Wheat Thins® Labeling Challenge a “Lawyer-Concocted Class Action”
Kraft Foods and its subsidiary have asked a federal court in California to dismiss claims that they mislead consumers by labeling Wheat Thins® crackers as “100% whole grain,” contending that the theory of the case does not meet the plausibility pleading standard and the state law-based claims are preempted under federal law. Garcia v. Nabisco,…
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NRDC Seeks FDA Documents Assessing Risks of Antibiotics in Livestock Production
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) alleging that they have failed, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, to produce documents pertaining to risk assessments for antibiotics used in livestock production. NRDC v. FDA,…
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Neither Wrigley nor Cadbury Infringed the Other’s Menthol Chewing Gum Patent
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided ruling, has determined that Wrigley’s 2000 patent for menthol chewing gum was invalid because prior patents made Wrigley’s claimed invention obvious; thus, the court determined that Cadbury did not infringe Wrigley’s patent when it reformulated its chewing gum to include the compound claimed in Wrigley’s patent.…
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OEHHA Proposes Maximum Allowable Dose Level for Sulfur Dioxide in Dried Fruits
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is seeking public comments on its proposal to establish a Proposition 65 maximum allowable dose level for sulfur dioxide of 220 micrograms per day. Comments should be submitted by August 20, 2012. Requests for a public hearing must be made no later than August 6. Sulfur…
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Indian Food Safety Authority to Regulate Energy Drinks
After two years of deliberation, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has reportedly agreed to issue draft regulations that would require energy drink manufacturers to rebrand their products as “caffeinated beverages.” Based on the findings of an expert panel convened to study caffeine and energy drink consumption in India, the draft regulations…
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European Commission to Enforce Rules on Laying Hen Cages
The European Commission has apparently sent “a reasoned opinion” to 10 member states “that have failed to correctly implement Directive 1994/74EC which introduces a ban on the use of un-enriched cages for laying hens,” according to a June 21, 2012, EU press release. The Commission has given Belgium, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary, the…
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EU Council Asks Member States to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
The Council of the European Union has issued a “One Health” perspective document recognizing that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) “is accelerated by excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents” and asking member states to “develop and implement national strategies or action plans for countering AMR.” According to the perspective document, which underlined the need for “an…