Category: Issue 646
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“Competing Priorities” Keep FDA From Ruling on Food Names Petition
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has notified the Good Food Institute (GFI) that the agency has been unable to reach a decision on the advocacy group’s March 2017 petition requesting recognition for commonly used—if technically inaccurate, per FDA definitions—food names such as “almond milk,” “soymilk,” “almond…
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GMO Putative Class Action Targets Boar’s Head
A consumer has filed a projected class action alleging Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc. misleadingly markets its cheeses as “natural” despite containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Forsher v. Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc., No. 17-4974 (N.D. Cal., filed August 25, 2017). The complaint asserts that GMOs are “not natural” and that “consumers do not expect…
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Ford, Domino’s Partner to Deliver Pizza by Autonomous Vehicles
Ford Motor Company and Domino’s Pizza Inc. have reportedly announced tests for a self-driving car that delivers pizza. The car will carry orders in external compartments that can be accessed by entering the last four digits of the customer’s phone number. A safety driver, a Ford engineer and a Domino’s employee will accompany the car…
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Thelonious Monk Estate Sues Brewery for “Brother Thelonious” Ale
The estate of Thelonious Monk has alleged that North Coast Brewing, maker of “Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale,” violated the estate’s trademark and publicity rights. Monk v. North Coast Brewing Co. Inc., No. 17-5015 (N.D. Cal., filed Aug. 29, 2017). According to the complaint, the estate verbally granted the brewer the right to use…
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Federal Court Clears Way for Seafood Traceability Program
A federal court has granted the U.S. Department of Commerce’s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit aiming to block implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which will require importers to document the catch-to-table distribution chain. Alfa Int’l Seafood, Inc. v. Sullivan, No. 17-0031 (D.D.C., entered August 28, 2017). A group of seafood processing,…
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Three Companies Join Tuna Price-Fixing Litigation
Dollar General Corp, Moran Foods LLC and Krasdale Foods, Inc. have filed lawsuits alleging that the makers of Bumble Bee, StarKist and Chicken of the Sea illegally conspired to fix prices for their products, echoing ongoing litigation alleging similar facts. Dollar General Corp. v. Bumble Bee Foods LLC, No. 17-1744 (S.D. Cal., filed Aug. 29,…
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In-N-Out, Smashburger Dispute “Triple Double” Mark
In-N-Out Burgers has filed a lawsuit alleging consumers are likely to confuse Smashburger’s “Triple Double” hamburger with In-N-Out’s “Double-Double,” “Triple Triple” and “Quad Quad.” In-N-Out Burgers v. Smashburger IP Holder LLC, No. 17-1474 (C.D. Cal., filed August 28, 2017). In-N-Out asserts use of the marks “Double-Double” and “Triple Triple” since the early 1960s to designate…
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Shook Attorneys Explore Limits on Photography During FDA Inspections
Shook Partners Lindsey Heinz and Katie Gates Calderon, with Associate Hillary Nicholas, have authored an article for Law360 discussing regulations related to the use of photography during a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection of a production facility. “Despite the void of statutory authority, the FDA continues to instruct its inspectors to ‘not request…