Category: Issue 529
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Court Dismisses Mislabeling Suit Against Hain in California; New Case Filed in New York
A California federal court has dismissed with prejudice a putative class action alleging that Hain Celestial Group Inc. mislabels its vegetable juice products as “organic” and “raw” one day before a proposed class action was filed against the company in New York federal court alleging similar claims about its baby foods and home care products.…
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Court Revives and Stays ECJ Suits
A California federal court has granted motions to amend the judgment in two cases previously dismissed to accord primary jurisdiction to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), each alleging that the defendants mislabeled their food products as including “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) rather than the more common term, sugar. Swearingen v. Santa Cruz Natural…
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Environmental Groups Sue California, Petition EPA to Protect Bees
Environmental groups have brought actions in state court and before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking action to halt the use of certain insecticides that they claim are linked to the collapse of bee colonies. In California, Pesticide Action Network North America and other groups call on the state Department of Pesticide Registration to…
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California Cities to Vote on Soft Drink Tax
Citizens of San Francisco and Berkeley will be voting on the implementation of a soda tax in the November 2014 elections. Similar taxes have failed to garner sufficient support in the past five years, with about 30 propositions introduced and none passed, including two that went to ballot and were defeated in California in 2012.…
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Danish Environment Ministry Seeks EU Limits on Phthalates
The Danish Ministry of the Environment has stated that the government intends to pressure the European Commission to phase out certain phthalates—including BBP, DEHP, DBP, and DIBP, which are used to soften plastics such as food containers—after the European Court of Justice found that Denmark’s proposed ban on them conflicts with EU regulations. Environment Minister…
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UK Report Seeks to Cut Sugar Intake Targets
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recently issued a draft “Carbohydrates and Health” report urging Public Health England (PHE) to halve the current population guidelines for added sugar intake. An independent expert panel that advises government agencies on nutrition and dietary matters, SACN created a Carbohydrates Working Group at the request of the U.K.…
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EFSA Calls Acrylamide “A Public Health Concern”
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) has published a draft scientific opinion on acrylamide (AA) in food that urges the further reduction of dietary exposure to the substance. According to the draft opinion, AA is formed when the sugars and amino acids in carbohydrate-rich foods—such as…
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FDA to Present 4-MEI Survey Findings at ACS National Meeting
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) representatives are slated to present findings of the agency’s analysis of more than 200 foods containing Class III and Class IV caramels for 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), a chemical byproduct of manufacturing processes, during the American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, August 10-14, 2014, in San Francisco, California. According to the…