Category: Issue 589
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Certification Denied in Probiotic Yogurt Dispute
A California federal court has refused to certify the proposed class in a case alleging Yakult U.S.A., Inc. mislabels its probiotic yogurt drinks as providing nonexistent health benefits. Torrent v. Yakult U.S.A., Inc., No. 15-0124 (C.D. Cal., order entered January 5, 2016). The plaintiff argued that “Yakult fails to actually confer any health benefit and…
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Second Circuit Upholds Wine Fraud Conviction
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had upheld the conviction of a man who sold $20 million worth of counterfeit wine by mixing lower-priced wines and pouring them into the bottles of more expensive wines. USA v. Kurniawan, No. 14-2928 (2nd Cir., order entered December 22, 2015). The man challenged the search…
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D.C. Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Poultry Inspection System Challenge
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of Food & Water Watch’s challenge to the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 15-5037 (D.C., order entered December 22, 2015). The organization argued that the NPIS did not comply with the Poultry…
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New French Law Requires Restaurants to Provide Take-Away Boxes
A law took effect in France on January 1, 2016, that requires restaurants to provide take-away boxes to diners who request them. The law reportedly targets the country’s rising food waste problem, but may have little impact—one government-commissioned report concluded that “the obstacle is mostly cultural” because “the majority of diners don’t dare to ask…
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Public Health England Releases Free “Sugar Smart” App
With the launch of its Change4Life campaign, Public Health England (PHE) has issued a free bar code-scanning app that displays the sugar content of foods and beverages. Claiming that children ages 4 to 10 consume 22 kilograms of sugar per year—”the average weight of a 5-year-old”—the campaign also features TV, digital and outdoor advertising as…
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ASA Dismisses Complaint Against Baileys™ Christmas Ad
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint alleging that Diageo Great Britain Ltd.’s holiday commercials for Baileys™ liqueur “implied that the success of a social occasion depended on the presence or consumption of alcohol.” Despite Alcohol Concern’s claim that the tagline “IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU… BAILEYS” was “irresponsible,” the agency agreed…
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USDA and HHS Unveil 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have published the 2015-2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which now emphasize overall dietary patterns as opposed to nutrient quotas. Explaining that “people do not eat food groups and nutrients in isolation but rather in combination,” the guidelines offer the following “overarching” recommendations: (i)…