Category: Issue 515
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Methylmercury Strict Liability Claims to Proceed Against Bumble Bee
A federal court in New York has refused to dismiss claims alleging that Bumble Bee Foods is strictly liable for and was negligent in failing to warn about the mercury in its products in a lawsuit alleging personal injury from excessive consumption of the company’s tuna products, which contain methylmercury. Porrazzo v. Bumble Bee Foods,…
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Consumer Fraud Claims Against Olive Oil Company Continue
A federal court in New York has denied the motion for summary judgment filed by the defendant in litigation alleging that it mislabeled its industrially processed olive-pomace oil as “100% Pure Olive Oil.” Ebin v. Kangadis Food Inc. d/b/a The Gourmet Factory, No. 13-2311 (S.D.N.Y., order entered February 25, 2014). Details about the court’s grant of…
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Court Imposes Spoliation Sanctions in Wine Infringement Dispute
A federal court in California has granted a motion for sanctions filed by Jackson Family Wines, which brought an infringement action against Diageo North America; an adverse inference instruction will be given to the jury during trial, and the plaintiff will be able to recover the costs of its efforts to secure a Diageo marketing…
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MDL Court Finds Chocolate Cos. Did Not Conspire to Increase Prices
A federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) court in Pennsylvania has determined that individual-purchaser plaintiffs and a direct-purchaser class failed to discover evidence that U.S. chocolate companies conspired to increase prices for immediate-consumption products between 2002 and 2007, and, with “nothing more than speculation as to the who, what, when, where, and how of communications that allegedly…
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OEHHA Extends Comment Period on Nitrite with Amines/Amides
In response to requests from trade associations representing meat industry interests, California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has extended the comment period on its proposal to list nitrite in combination with amines or amides as known to the state to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of…
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Proposed GE Food Labeling Legislation in California Would Limit Litigation
California Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) has introduced legislation (S.B. 1381) that would require labeling for genetically engineered (GE) foods but also place limits on potential litigation arising from the failure to label such products. Under the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, “any raw agricultural commodity or packaged food that is entirely…
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EFSA Issues Opinion on Vitamin D for Bones and Teeth
Following an application to claim that vitamin D is important to normal bone and teeth development in infants and children, the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies has issued an opinion affirming that vitamin D contributes to normal development of bones and teeth. The panel noted previous favorable assessments of…
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EFSA Announces Follow-Up Meeting on BPA
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced an April 23, 2014, scientific meeting to discuss its draft opinion on the human health risks of bisphenol A (BPA) for consumers. Developed by the EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF), the draft opinion also includes a re-evaluation of the tolerable…