Category: Issue
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Court Denies Certification in Tito’s “Handmade” Suit
A New York federal court has denied class certification to a plaintiff alleging that Fifth Generation, Inc. falsely advertised Tito’s Handmade Vodka, ruling that the plaintiff failed to propose a model to measure the alleged price premium. Singleton v. Fifth Generation, Inc., No. 15-474 (N.D.N.Y., entered September 27, 2017). The court noted that the plaintiff…
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NAD Recommends French’s Discontinue “Greatest Tasting Ketchup” Ads
The National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that French’s Food Company pull Facebook and print advertising claiming that its ketchup and mustard products are “better” than their competitors, preferred by children and free from high-fructose corn syrup. NAD found that French’s was unable to substantiate several claims—“Tastier Meals,” “Greatest Tasting Ketchup” and “America’s #1 mustard…
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FDA Warns Granola Company About Listing “Love” Ingredient
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned Nashoba Brook Bakery that it has misbranded its granola by listing “Love” as one of its ingredients. The warning letter informed the company that “’love’ is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not…
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GAO Criticizes Lack of Oversight of Antibiotic Residue Levels in Imported Seafood
A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study has criticized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) for their failure to ensure that imported seafood does not contain unsafe levels of antibiotic or other drug residues. According to the GAO, about 90 percent of the seafood…
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San Francisco Passes Ordinance Requiring Grocers To Report Antibiotics In Meat and Poultry
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved an ordinance that will require certain grocery stores to report the use of antibiotics in raw meat and poultry. Scheduled to take effect in April 2018, the ordinance requires grocers that own or operate 25 or more stores to submit annual reports that include the purposes…
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OIG Report Suggests Improvements to FSMA Enforcement
A report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fails to adequately conduct or follow up on food-safety inspections required by the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). OIG reportedly found that while FDA is “on…
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Ninth Circuit Rejects Preemption Argument, Upholds California Ban on Foie Gras
The Ninth Circuit has upheld California’s ban on force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras, finding the state’s law is not preempted by the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). Assoc. des Éleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Québec v. Becerra, No. 15- 55192 (9th Cir., opinion filed September 15, 2017). In 2013, the Ninth…