Category: Issue 721
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Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Standardize Food Date Labels
U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) have introduced the Food Date Labeling Act, which aims to “end consumer confusion around food date labeling and ensure Americans do not throw out perfectly good food,” according to a press release. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has introduced a companion bill in the Senate. The proposed…
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Crystal Farms Wins Dismissal of Butter Lawsuit
A New York federal court has granted Crystal Farms Refrigerated Distribution Co.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging that the packaging of Diner’s Choice mashed potatoes misleads consumers by featuring “Made with Real Butter” on the front despite containing both butter and margarine. Reyes v. Crystal Farms Refrigerated Distrib. Co., No. 18-2250 (E.D.N.Y.,…
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Some Claims Dismissed in Pet Food Arsenic Case
An Illinois federal court has dismissed part of a putative class action alleging that Champion Petfoods USA Inc. sold foods for animals that contained elevated levels of several heavy metals—including arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead—as well as bisphenol A (BPA), pentobarbital, “non-regional and non-fresh ingredients, or unnatural or other ingredients that do not conform to…
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Heinz Asserts Trademark on “Poppers” as Appetizers
H.J. Heinz Co. has filed a trademark infringement suit alleging Real Good Food Co. created and sold frozen appetizers described as “Poppers,” which Heinz argues it owns the rights to for “frozen appetizers consisting primarily of vegetables, pork and/or cheese, not including shrimp.” H.J. Heinz Co. Brands LLC v. Real Good Food Co., No. 19-0915…
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New Yorker Deems Fish Selection “Last Robot-Proof Job”
The New Yorker has described a visit to the warehouse of Fulton Fish Market, a web start-up that aims to provide fresh fish across the United States using “an Amazon-esque warehousing-and-logistics system.” In “The Last Robot-Proof Job in America?” the author states, “There is one thing, however, that the sophisticated logistics system cannot do: pick…
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UK House of Lords Subcommittee Argues Against Meat Definition Laws
The EU Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the U.K. House of Lords has submitted a letter to the country’s agriculture minister in response to a EU committee’s approval of a measure that would prohibit the use of meat-associated words and phrases—including “sausage,” “burger” and “steak”—to describe plant-derived products. “Veggie tubes proposal a misteak,” the subcommittee’s…
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Organic Producers Could Potentially Use GMOs, USDA Suggests
In testimony before the House Agriculture Subcommittee, Under Secretary of Agriculture Greg Ibach suggested that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) could potentially be used in the production of organic foods eventually. “As the National Organic Standards Board set the rules originally, right now GMO or transgenics are not eligible to be in the Organic Program, but…
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FDA Approves Soy Leghemoglobin as Color Additive
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that soy leghemoglobin has been approved for use “as a color additive in ground beef analogue products” following a petition submitted by Impossible Foods. The announcement notes that the agency previously found soy leghemoglobin to be generally recognized as safe as a flavor additive. “FDA concurs…