Category: Issue 596
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Roles of Individual Choice and Regulation in Public Health Debates Target of Northeastern University Event
“Conflicts between individual choice and collective action underlie many of the most contested and challenging debates relating to health and health care, from the very existence of Obamacare to government responses to the obesity and tobacco epidemics,” according to promotional materials for an April 15, 2016, conference on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston.…
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Consumers Challenge Maple Sugar Content in Quaker Oats’ Oatmeal
A California resident has filed a putative class action alleging Quaker Oats Co. mislabels its instant oatmeal as containing maple syrup despite containing no syrup or maple sugar. Eisenlord v. Quaker Oats Co., No. 16-1442 (C.D. Cal., filed March 1, 2016). Citing a letter from the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association to the U.S. Food…
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Jimi Hendrix Estate Sues Distillery for “Purple Haze Liqueur”
Experience Hendrix has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Tiger Paw Distributors, Private Label Distillery and Leon Hendrix, Jimi’s brother, for selling an alcohol product called “Purple Haze Liqueur.” Experience Hendrix v. Tiger Paw Distrib., No. 16-0642 (N.D. Ga., filed February 29, 2016). Experience Hendrix, established by Jimi’s father and now owned by Jimi’s sister and cousin,…
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Founder of Halal Co. Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison
The founder of Midamar, an export company charged with fraud for sending “halal” meat to Malaysia that failed to meet halal slaughtering standards, has reportedly been sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $60,000 in fines and $184,983 in disgorgement. Midamar was fined $20,000 and ordered to forfeit $600,000. A U.S.…
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Cheese Cos. Plead Guilty to Adulterating Parmesan
Two cheese companies and an executive from a third company have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and sale of adulterated and misbranded Parmesan cheese products. The companies, Universal Cheese & Drying, Inc. and International Packing, LLC, were charged with conspiracy to introduce misbranded cheese products into interstate commerce and to commit money…
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European High Court Affirms Preservative Labeling on Citrus Fruits
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has reportedly affirmed a ruling that Spanish citrus growers must label their fruits when they have used chemicals or preservatives in post-harvest processing. Spain challenged the European Commission’s (EC’s) power to enact the rule, arguing the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe had set voluntary standards only. The lower court…
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New York Federal Court Dismisses Proposed Class Action Against Whole Foods
A New York federal court has dismissed a putative class action alleging Whole Foods Market Group overcharged its customers for some prepackaged foods, finding that the plaintiffs failed to specify any particular transactions in which the grocer overcharged them. In re Whole Foods Mkt. Grp., Inc. Overcharging Litig., No. 15-5838 (S.D.N.Y., order entered March 1,…
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules for Workers in Hormel Don-Doff Class Action
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a class of manufacturing-plant workers at Hormel Food Corp. should be paid for the time they need to change into and out of their required clothes and equipment. United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 1473 v. Hormel Food. Corp., No. 2014-AP-1880 (Wis., order entered March 1, 2016).…