Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Issue 651

  • Lawsuit Alleging Champagne Misrepresentation to Continue

    A Québec court has allowed to proceed a consumer’s lawsuit alleging Sunwing Vacations Inc. misrepresented its “Champagne Service” because it served sparkling wine produced outside of the Champagne region of France. Macduff v. Sunwing Vacations Inc., No. 2017 QCCS 4540 (Québec Super. Ct., entered October 11, 2017). Sunwing argues that it uses the terms “champagne service” and…

  • Errington Cheese to Avoid Prosecution for Child’s Death

    Scotland’s Crown Office reportedly will not prosecute Errington Cheese for the death of a three-year-old linked to an outbreak of E. coli in 2016. A March 2017 Health Protection Scotland report apparently found Errington’s unpasteurized Dunsyre Blue cheese to be the “likely” source of the outbreak and the cause of the child’s death. The Crown…

  • FDA Warns Snyder’s-Lance About Iron Content Labels

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a warning letter to Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. about the iron content of its Lance Toast Chee Crackers. The letter indicates that FDA conducted surveillance sampling purportedly showing that the company’s single-serve cracker packages contained about half of the “10% Daily Value for iron” listed on the product…

  • Court Allows ECJ Lawsuit to Proceed

    A California federal court has allowed to proceed a putative class action challenging the use of “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) on Late July Snacks LLC’s product labels on the grounds that the Sherman Act does not require reliance on allegedly deceptive misrepresentation. Swearingen v. Late July Snacks LLC, No. 13-4324 (N.D. Cal., entered October 16,…

  • Fifth Generation to Discontinue Tito’s Taste-Test Ads After NAD Challenge

    Fifth Generation, Inc. will reportedly discontinue advertising asserting that its Tito’s Handmade Vodka scored higher in taste tests than four of its competitors. Absolut Spirits Co. challenged the advertising claims before the National Advertising Division (NAD), arguing that the tests were completed before 2010 and are therefore outdated. Further, Absolut argued, the challenged ads implied…

  • No “Piggyback” Standing in Putative Cookie Class Action, Court Rules

    An Illinois federal court has dismissed part of a putative class action against Lenny & Larry’s Inc., holding that the plaintiffs lack standing and that the application of 50 differing state laws is “unmanageable on a class-wide basis because those states’ laws conflict in material ways.” Cowen v. Lenny & Larry’s Inc., No. 17-1530 (N.D.…

  • Texas Appeals Court Holds House-Brand Beer Labels Not Protected Commercial Speech

    A Texas appeals court has held that Mark Anthony Brewing cannot produce and label a house-brand beer for TGI Friday’s restaurants because state law prohibits “overlapping” relationships among alcohol manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Comm’n v. Mark Anthony Brewing, Inc., No. 16-0039 (Texas Ct. App., entered October 13, 2017). The Texas Alcoholic Beverage…

  • Ghirardelli Packages Short Consumers on Chocolate, Plaintiff Alleges

    A putative class action plaintiff has filed a lawsuit alleging that Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. puts fewer chocolates in packages of individually wrapped, single-serving chocolate squares than the number advertised on labels. Brungard v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., No. 17-5873 (N.D. Cal., filed October 12, 2017). The plaintiff asserts that he bought chocolates in 10-, 17- and…