Category: Issue 544
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Byproduct of Red Meat Digestion Allegedly Linked to Heart Failure Mortality
A new study exploring the link between cardiovascular disease and a gut bacteria metabolite known as trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) has reported that “higher TMAO levels predict higher future risk of death from heart failure, independent of other clinically used blood tests or risk factors.” W.H. Wilson Tang, et al., “Prognostic Value of Elevated Levels of Intestinal…
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CSPI Seeks Data from FDA About Raw Milk Drug Residue Survey
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Freedom of Information Act for “the data collected by the Center for Veterinary Medicine under its Raw Milk Drug Residue Survey.” According to CSPI, FDA conducted the survey in 2012 “because excess and…
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Employees Forced to Buy Bob Evans Uniforms Sue for Unpaid Minimum Wages
Bob Evans servers who were paid under the “tip credit” provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim in a collective action filed in a Florida federal court that they “were not compensated at least the proper minimum wage for all hours worked as a result of being required to pay for uniforms.” McDaniel v.…
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Trans Fat in Xtreme Wellness® Tortillas Generates Litigation
A California resident has filed a putative nationwide class action in federal court against Olé Mexican Foods, Inc., alleging that its Xtreme Wellness® whole-wheat tortillas contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, “banned in many parts of the world due to its artificial trans fat content,” thus belying the health and wellness representations the company uses on product…
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Public Interest Groups Sue FDA over Animal Drug Approvals
The Center for Food Safety and two other public interest organizations have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to overturn its approval of 11 animal drugs containing ractopamine hydrochloride on the ground that the agency failed to undertake the analysis purportedly required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)…
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Putative Class Action Echoes FTC Suit Against Gerber over Allergy Reduction Claims
Days after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit to enjoin Gerber Products Co. from claiming that its Good Start® Gentle infant formula helps reduce allergies in children, a consumer filed a putative class action in Arizona federal court alleging the same facts. Werthe v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 14-8216 (D. Ariz., filed November…
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Appellate Court Holds That Dram Shop Statutes Do Not Protect Four Loko Producer from Lawsuit
Reversing a lower-court decision, a California appeals court has ruled that state dram shop statutes—meant to protect some sellers of alcohol beverages from liability for injuries related to the beverages’ consumption—do not provide immunity for City Brewing Co. in a lawsuit alleging that the company was negligent in producing Four Loko. Fiorini v. City Brewing…
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Class Certification Denied in “All Natural” Suit Against Reality Star’s Skinnygirl Margarita
An Illinois federal court has declined to certify a class in a lawsuit alleging that Skinnygirl Margarita, a pre-mixed alcohol beverage sold by Skinnygirl Cocktails, and its founder, Bethenny Frankel of reality show “The Real Housewives of New York City” and talk show “Bethenny,” was labeled as “all natural” despite containing the non-natural preservative sodium…