Category: Issue 532
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Quaker Oats Class-Action Settlement Finalized, PHOs to Be Removed
In consolidated actions pending since 2010, a federal court in California has entered a final order approving a class-action settlement that will require Quaker Oats Co. to remove partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from some of its oatmeal products and cease making the statement “contains a dietarily insignificant amount of trans fat” on any product label…
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D.C. Circuit Upholds Meat-Source Labeling Requirements
In a 9-2 en banc decision, the District of Columbia Circuit has affirmed an earlier panel decision that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can require meat producers to include country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on their packaging. Am. Meat. Inst. v. USDA, No. 13-5281 (D.C. Cir., order entered July 29, 2014). The First Amendment allows for…
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FTC’s Four Loko Final Order Modified
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a modified final order in proceedings against Phusion Projects, LLC, which markets the malt beverage Four Loko, to account for the Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau’s (TTB’s) denial of proposed changes to the company’s product labels. In re Phusion Projects, LLC, No. C-4382…
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NLRB General Counsel to Name McDonald’s as Joint Employer
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Richard Griffin has reportedly determined that McDonald’s, USA, LLC will be named as a “joint employer respondent” if meritorious complaints alleging unfair labor practices against the company and its franchisees do not settle. According to the NLRB, 181 cases involving McDonald’s have been filed since November 2012. Press…
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Health Experts Back “Added Sugar” Labeling
The Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists has submitted a comment backed by more than 280 health experts asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include a percent daily value for the proposed “added sugars” declaration on food and beverage labeling. Responding to the agency’s request for comments…
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USDA Rejects Petition Seeking Adulterant Designation for ABR Salmonella
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has denied the May 2011 petition filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeking an interpretive rule declaring certain antibiotic-resistant (ABR) strains of Salmonella to be adulterants when found in raw ground meat and raw ground poultry. Additional information…
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New Poultry Inspection Rules Require Proactive Pathogen Reduction, Set Maximum Line Speeds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a final rule amending poultry slaughter regulations and establishing a new poultry inspection system (NPIS) for young chicken and turkey slaughter establishments. Part of USDA’s response to a presidential executive order (E.O. 13563) asking agencies to review and improve existing regulations,…
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Senators Urge Commerce Department Against Quotas on Mexican Sugar Imports
A group of 17 U.S. senators has submitted a letter to the Commerce Department warning that a proposed suspension agreement imposing quotas on Mexican sugar imports would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement, “threaten the viability of American food manufacturers and raise food prices for American families.” Led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and…