Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Issue

  • Food Manufacturer Sentenced to Prison for Selling Contaminated Cheese

    Christian Rivas, owner of Oasis Brands Inc., has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for two charges that he sold cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instructed the company to stop distribution until it remedied its practices. FDA inspected Oasis in August 2014, found several violations and…

  • Ninth Circuit Finds No Standing in Six States’ Challenge to California Egg Production Laws

    The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the attorneys general of six states—Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky and Iowa—do not have standing to sue California AG Kamala Harris in an attempt to block enforcement of a law requiring egg-production facilities to provide hens enough space to fully extend their limbs and turn around freely…

  • NOSB Opts to Remove Carrageenan from List of Substances Allowed in Organic Products

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has reportedly voted 10-3, with one abstention, to remove carrageenan from the national list of substances allowed in organic processing and handling. Held November 16-18, 2016, in St. Louis, Missouri, the NOSB’s semi-annual meeting included a review of carrageenan on the National List of Allowed…

  • U.S. Surgeon General Tackles Alcohol Misuse in Addiction Report

    The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a landmark report intended “to address substance use disorders and the wider range of health problems and consequences related to alcohol and drug misuse in the United States.” Seeking “to galvanize the public, policymakers, and health care systems,” the report claims, among other things, that more than 25 percent…

  • Putative Class Action Challenges Krispy Kreme’s Raspberry, Maple and Blueberry Products

    A consumer has filed a projected class action against Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., alleging the company’s blueberry, maple and raspberry products are not made with the ingredients in their fruit-based names. Saidian v. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., No. 16-8338 (C.D. Cal., filed November 9, 2016). The complaint highlights health benefits apparently linked to raspberries, blueberries,…

  • Splenda® Manufacturer Files Trademark Suit Against Dunkin’ Donuts

    Heartland Consumer Products, producer of sucralose-based sweetener Splenda®, has filed a lawsuit against Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. and its franchisees alleging the restaurant chain misleads its customers into believing it carries Splenda® while providing a different sweetener made in China. Heartland Consumer Prods. v. Dunkin’ Brands, Inc., No. 16-3045 (S.D. Ind., Indianapolis Div., filed November 7, 2016).…

  • Former Wine Co. Owner Charged with Fraud for Mislabeling Grapes

    A federal grand jury has indicted Jeffry Hill of Hill Wine Co. on charges that he sold wine falsely labeled as originating from Napa Valley in California. United States v. Hill, No. 16-CR-0454 (N.D. Cal., indictment entered November 1, 2016). The indictment accuses Hill of growing grapes outside the designated Napa Valley borders and selling the grape…

  • California Court Dismisses PHO Suit as “Frivolous,” Preempted

    A California federal court has dismissed a consumer’s putative class action against AdvancePierre Foods, Inc. alleging the company both physically and financially harmed her by selling her a microwavable sandwich made with partially hydrogenated oil (PHO). Hawkins v. AdvancePierre Foods, Inc., No. 15-2309 (S.D. Cal., order entered November 8, 2016). The court agreed with AdvancePierre’s argument…