Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Issue 585

  • Cornucopia Institute Unleashes Attack on Pet Food Manufacturers

    A new report from Cornucopia Institute, a “non-profit food/farm policy research group,” contends the “pet food industry is no different than leading marketers of processed human food when it comes to cheap substitutes and false health claims.” Titled “Decoding Pet Food: Adulteration, Toxic Ingredients, and the Best Choices for Your Companion Animals,” the report is…

  • Precautionary Principle Focus of Upcoming TACD Forum

    London-based Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), a collaborative group of U.S. and E.U. consumer organizations that develops and submits joint consumer policy recommendations to the U.S. government and European Union, is hosting a January 26, 2016, meeting in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on use of the precautionary principle in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Discussions…

  • Proposed Class Action Challenges Whole Foods Kombucha

    Two consumers have filed a putative class action alleging that two lines of kombucha manufactured by Millennium Products and sold by Whole Foods Market contain several defects, including levels of alcohol higher than the label represents and packaging inadequate to properly accommodate the product’s secondary fermentation. Pedro v. Millennium Prods., Inc., No. 15-5253 (N.D. Cal.,…

  • Plaintiff in Multiple Trans Fat Lawsuits Cannot Claim Lack of Subject Knowledge, Court Finds

    A California federal court has granted a motion to dismiss claims that La Tapatia Tortilleria mislabels its food as containing no trans fats despite containing partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) based on the finding that the plaintiff cannot claim he relied on the product packaging because he is the plaintiff in several similar lawsuits, showing he…

  • Ohio Federal Court Dismisses Several Claims in Tito’s “Handmade” Suit

    An Ohio federal court has dismissed fraud and consumer-protection claims against Fifth Dimension, maker of Tito’s Handmade Vodka®, in a putative class action alleging the beverage company misrepresents the process of making its vodka by calling the product “handmade.” Terlesky v. Fifth Dimension, No. 15-0374 (S.D. Ohio, order entered November 17, 2015). The court analyzed…

  • NAD Refers “Danish” Cookie Controversy to FDA, FTC

    The National Advertising Division (NAD), an investigative unit of the U.S. advertising industry’s system of self-regulation, has referred to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) an ad campaign for Danisa “Traditional Butter Cookies,” which are manufactured by the Mayora Group in Indonesia and distributed by Takari International, Inc. NAD…

  • “Eco-Friendly” Meal Delivery Packaging Claims Should Be Discontinued, NAD Rules

    After a review by the National Advertising Division (NAD), the advertising industry’s self-regulation investigative arm, Gobble, Inc. has agreed to discontinue claims that packaging for its meal-delivery services is “eco-friendly.” NAD requested substantiation for several claims appearing on Gobble’s website, including the company’s use of “insulated liners that are biodegradable so that you can dispose of…

  • FSIS Issues Updated Guidance for Meat and Poultry Product Allergens

    Responding to public comments solicited in April 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued revised guidance for identifying, controlling and labeling allergens and other ingredients of public health concern through hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plans, sanitation standard operating procedures (SOPs) or other prerequisite programs. Geared…