Category: Issue
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First Amendment Concerns Pause San Francisco SSB Tax’s Warning-Label Requirement
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s denial of a preliminary injunction stopping the warning-label portion of San Francisco’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax from taking effect. Am. Beverage Ass’n v. City & Cty. of San Francisco, No. 16-16072 (9th Cir., entered September 19, 2017). Additional information about the complaint and denial…
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Netflix Sends Cease-and-Desist to “Stranger Things”-Themed Bar
Netflix has reportedly requested that a Chicago bar end its theming related to the company’s popular “Stranger Things” show. “The Upside Down” was intended to be a six-week installation run by neighboring Emporium Logan Square, an arcade-themed bar, but success led the creators to plan on extending the pop-up past its scheduled closing date of…
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NAD Rules Ragú Sauce Provided “Reasonable Basis” for Customer Preference Ad Claim
The National Advertising Division (NAD) has ruled that Mizkan America, Inc. provided a reasonable basis for its advertising claim that “consumers prefer the taste of Ragú Homestyle Traditional over Prego Traditional.” The Campbell Soup Co., which makes Prego, challenged the ad on the grounds that Mizkan’s consumer survey methodology was flawed. Both parties conducted a…
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FDA Announces Final FSMA Produce Safety Rule
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that the produce safety rule of the Food Safety and Modernization Act of 2010 (FSMA) is now final, establishing minimum standards for the growing, harvesting, packing and holding of raw produce for human consumption. Compliance dates are staggered but will affect large operations first. The key…
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Gates Calderon Joins FDLI Conference Panel to Discuss Plant-Based Foods
Partner Katie Gates Calderon was a panelist at the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) Food Advertising, Labeling and Litigation Conference in Washington, D.C., September 13-14, 2017. She joined Jessica Almy, policy director at The Good Food Institute, and moderator Stuart M. Pape of Polsinelli PC in a discussion of “Naming of Plant-Based Food Products…
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“Organic” Agave Nectar Contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, Proposed Class Action Alleges
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that American Sugar Refining mislabeled its agave syrup as “organic” because it contains isomaltose, an ingredient “not naturally found in pure agave syrup.” Valdes v. Am. Sugar Refining, No. 17-5213 (E.D.N.Y., filed September 5, 2017). The complaint asserts that while the only ingredient listed on the…
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“Pretzel Crisps” Again Ruled Generic Term by TTAB
For a second time, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has granted Frito-Lay North America’s petition for cancellation of Snyder’s-Lance Inc.’s application to trademark “Pretzel Crisps,” finding the term is generic. Frito-Lay N. Am.v. Princeton-Vanguard, LLC, No. 91195552 (TTAB, entered September 6, 2017). TTAB initially found “pretzel crisp” to be generic following Frito-Lay’s opposition…
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Kefir Projected Class Action Survives Motion to Dismiss
A federal court has denied Lifeway Foods’ motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging the company fraudulently marketed its kefir beverage as 99 percent lactose-free despite containing 4 percent lactose. Block v. Lifeway Foods, No. 17-1717 (D.N. Ill., entered September 6, 2017). “[I]n some other cases, consumers have brought consumer fraud claims against food…