Category: Issue 473
-
IKEA Pulls Meatballs, Sausages in Wake of Horsemeat Scandal
IKEA Group has reportedly withdrawn its trademark meatballs and sausages from its European locations after testing revealed trace amounts of horsemeat in the products. According to a February 28, 2013, press release, the company identified horsemeat “in a few samples of our meatballs from a supplier in Sweden” and has thus suspended sales of “all…
-
One-Third of Seafood Allegedly Mislabeled, New Report Claims
According to a recent study conducted by the nonprofit ocean conservation group Oceana, as much as one-third of seafood sold in restaurants and grocery store is mislabeled. From 2010 to 2012, Oceana evidently collected more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states to determine if they were correctly labeled. After conducting…
-
New Report Critical of Digital Food Marketing to Children
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and the Berkeley Media Studies Group have published a report criticizing top cereal manufacturers for allegedly targeting children with “sophisticated online marketing techniques.” Andrew Cheyne, et al., “Marketing Sugary Cereals to Children in the Digital Age: A Content Analysis of 17 Child-Targeted Websites,” Journal of Health Communication,…
-
D.C. Circuit Dismisses Challenge to USDA Almond Rules
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a challenge to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules requiring California almonds sold domestically to be treated with heat or chemicals to prevent the spread of Salmonella. Koretoff v. Vilsack, No. 12-5075 (D.C. Cir., decided February 22, 2013). According to the court, the almond producers who mounted…
-
Beer Maker Inundated with Product Dilution Claims
Putative class actions have been filed against the Anheuser-Busch Cos. (AB) in federal courts in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, alleging that “consumers receive watered down beer containing less alcohol than is stated on the labels of AB’s products.” Giampaoli v. Anheuser-Busch Cos., LLC, No. 13-0828 (N.D. Cal., filed February 22, 2013); Wilson v. Anheuser-Busch Cos.,…
-
Lawyer Silenced by Court in Halal Fraud Suit Claims Unlawful Prior Restraint
The Dearborn, Michigan-based attorney who was ordered to remove statements from his Facebook® page opposing a proposed class-action settlement in a case raising allegations that a McDonald’s Corp. franchisee purported to sell halal chicken when some of the products were not prepared according to Islamic law has filed a motion to vacate the order and…
-
Criminal Charges Follow Investigation into Illegal Importation of Honey
A U.S. attorney in Illinois has announced charges filed against two companies and five individuals in a five-year investigation of imports that allegedly circumvented $180 million in anti-dumping duties on honey from China and involved purportedly “adulterated” honey containing the antibiotics chloramphenicol and tetracycline. Groeb Farms, Inc., described as the largest industrial honey supplier in the…
-
Misbranded Yogurt Suit Dismissed with Prejudice
A California federal court has dismissed with prejudice claims filed against a yogurt maker and its parent company alleging that its Greek style yogurt product was misbranded under federal food regulations. Smith v. Cabot Creamery Coop., Inc., No. 12-4591 (N.D. Cal., decided February 25, 2013). The putative class plaintiffs alleged that the defendants used whey protein…