Category: Issue 572
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Politico Takes President Obama and Congress to Task over Food Safety Reform
By failing to adequately fund and implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the “Obama administration and Congress have all but squandered an opportunity to give the anemic Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for the safety of 80 percent of the nation’s food supply, a level of oversight the public long assumed it…
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DOJ Warns of Criminal Prosecutions for Food-Safety Lapses
In a recent Associated Press (AP) interview, U.S. Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery warns that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will pursue criminal penalties against companies that sell poisoned food. AP cites the recent prosecution of Peanut Corp. of America executives along with actions against the producers of tainted cantaloupe and eggs as evidence of…
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Salt-Reduction Strategies Focus of Upcoming Webinar
“Pass (on) the Salt: The Business Case for Sodium Reduction” is the title of a July 29, 2015, webinar organized by California-based law and policy group ChangeLab Solutions. Program faculty, including two ChangeLab staff attorneys, will reportedly discuss various institutional (e.g., state governments, hospitals) initiatives to limit the number of salty foods provided or available…
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As You Sow Praises Pollinator Protection Policies
Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow has reportedly withdrawn a shareholder resolution after General Mills Inc. agreed to “consolidate and disseminate guidance to growers of key commodities such as corn and soy on how to protect and minimize the impact of neonicotinoids and other pesticides to pollinators.” According to a July 8, 2015, press release,…
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Foster Farms Targeted in Purported Class Action over “Humane” Labeling
A consumer has filed a putative class action against Foster Poultry Farms, Inc. alleging that the company’s label misleads by displaying an American Humane Association (AHA) certification logo because that certification does not indicate a higher, more humane standard for raising chickens. Leining v. Foster Poultry Farms, Inc., No. BC588044 (Cal. Super. Ct., filed July…
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Actual Calories, Fat in Kraft Sour Cream Four Times the Label Listing, Lawsuit Alleges
A consumer has filed a putative class action against Kraft Foods Group, Inc. alleging that the company’s Knudsen Hampshire Sour Cream is labeled as containing 60 calories with 3.5 grams of saturated fat per halfcup while the actual content is 240 calories with 14 grams of saturated fat. Appel v. Kraft Foods Grp., Inc., No.…
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Halal Food Co. Executive Found Guilty of Making False Export Statements
An Iowa federal jury has found William Aossey , the former owner of Midamar Corp., guilty of making false export statements along with conspiracy and wire fraud stemming from the company’s misrepresenta- tion of the source of food exported to Malaysia and Indonesia. U.S. v. Aossey, No. 14-0116 (N.D. Iowa, jury verdict entered July 13,…
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Court Finds Gerber Case Unaffected by Fourth Circuit Change in False Ad Standards
A California federal court has denied Gerber Products Co.’s attempt to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit about the company’s Good Start® Gentle based on the reasoning in a June 2015 Fourth Circuit decision that significantly changed the law. Zakaria v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 15-0200 (C.D. Cal., order entered July 14, 2015). The June decision…