Category: Issue

  • Biden Announces USDA Efforts to Increase Competition in Meat and Poultry Markets

    The Biden administration has announced a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule it says will promote inclusive competition and market integrity in the livestock, meat and poultry markets. At a September 26 meeting of the White House Competition Council, President Joe Biden announced the proposed Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity rules under the Packers…

  • FDA Releases Activities Document Detailing Its Approach to Produce Imports

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released an activities document outlining how the agency is working to enhance the safety of fresh produce imported into the United States. The Activities to Enhance the Safety of Imported Produce, announced September 27, builds on the FDA’s Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food, which began…

  • ASA bars Gordon Ramsay Gin Ad for Nutritional Claims

    The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has barred Eden Mill Distillery from using a social media ad for Ramsay’s Gin featuring cofounder and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay that the organization found to have made non-permitted nutrition claims about alcoholic drinks. ASA received and investigated a complaint about a March 20 ad posted to Ramsay’s Gin’s…

  • EPA Denies Petition Requesting Rulemaking on Insecticide-Coated Seeds

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition from the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and other groups calling on the agency to amend or formally interpret the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as not exempting seeds covered in insecticide and thus requiring compliance with registration and labeling under FIFRA. CFS filed…

  • Biden Administration Releases National Food Strategy

    The White House has released the “Biden-Harris National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health,” which lays out the Biden administration’s policy goals on a number of food-related subjects. The third pillar of the strategy includes the administration’s intention to (i) “develop a front-of-package (FOP) labeling system to quickly and easily communicate nutrition information”; (ii) “make…

  • Court Sends GMO Disclosure Regulation Back to USDA for Review

    A federal court in California has ruled that solely using QR codes on food packaging is not enough to disclose a product’s bioengineered status to consumers. Natural Grocers v. Vilsack, No. 20-5151 (N.D. Cal., entered September 13, 2022). The ruling was in a suit brought by retailers and non-profit organizations against the U.S. Department of…

  • Beyond Meat Faces New Claim that It Misled Consumers on Protein Content

    Three consumers have filed a putative class action against alternative-meat manufacturer Beyond Meat, Inc., alleging the company misled consumers as to the amount of protein in its products. Garcia v. Beyond Meat, Inc., No. 22-297 (S.D. Iowa, filed on September 9, 2022). The plaintiffs—who live in Colorado, Iowa and Florida—allege they relied on representations regarding…

  • Judge Tosses Claims that MorningStar Veggie Products Misled Consumers

    A federal court has dismissed a proposed class action claiming Kellogg misled consumers into believing their “veggie” MorningStar Farms products were exclusively or mostly made with vegetables. Kennard v. Kellogg Sales Co., No. 21-7211 (N.D. Cal., entered September 14, 2022). The plaintiff in the suit alleged Kellogg misleadingly and illegally labels MorningStar Farms “veggie” products,…