Category: Issue
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Malic Acid Challenged in Laffy Taffy, Nerds
A plaintiff has alleged that Ferrara Candy Co. misleads consumers by labeling its candies as containing no artificial flavors while including malic acid as an ingredient. Gruber v. Ferrara Candy Co., No. 19-4700 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., filed July 12, 2019). The complaint echoes other putative class actions alleging that the “malic acid” listed as…
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TTAB Refuses to Register “Scoop” for Ice Cream
The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has affirmed the denial of Yarnell Ice Cream LLC’s application to register a trademark on a mascot named “Scoop.” In re Yarnell Ice Cream, LLC, No. 86824279 (TTAB, entered July 9, 2019). The examining attorney rejected the application, finding “scoop” to be merely descriptive, and the appeals…
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AGs Submit Comment to FDA on Cannabis
A group of 38 state attorneys general have submitted a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to the agency’s call for comments on possible regulatory approaches for cannabis and cannabis-derived products such as cannabidiol (CBD). “As the primary enforcers of our respective states’ consumer protection laws, we offer a unique…
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EPA Declines to Ban Chlorpyrifos
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reportedly rejected efforts to ban chlorpyrifos, finding that “the data available are not sufficiently valid, complete or reliable to meet petitioners’ burden to present evidence demonstrating that the tolerances are not safe.” The decision follows a 2015 ban and 2017 reversal, which prompted legal challenges. EPA will reportedly continue…
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Baby Food Contains Excess Sugars, WHO Argues
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a pair of studies purportedly finding that “a high proportion of baby foods are incorrectly marketed as suitable for infants under the age of six months, when in fact much of it contains inappropriately high levels of sugar.” Researchers reviewed 7,955 baby-food products in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and…
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Shook Takes the Pulse of General Counsel on Maturation of Global Cannabis Market
More than half of in-house counsel surveyed in a new white paper by Shook, Hardy & Bacon plan to increase legal spending in the next two years to accommodate the evolving cannabis market, with a significant growth in litigation threats anticipated over the next decade. Read the results of the white paper >> “Articles and…
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Vegan Food Co. Challenges Mississippi Meat Law
Upton’s Naturals Co. has filed a lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s law prohibiting the use of “meat” to describe products that are not derived from animals. Upton’s Naturals Co. v. Bryant, No. 19-0462 (S.D. Miss., filed July 1, 2019). Upton’s, which makes “vegan burgers,” “vegan bacon” and “vegan chorizo,” argues that the law is a “content-based regulation…
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OCA Alleges Twinings Misleads with “Pure” Claims
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has alleged that Twinings North America Inc. misleads consumers by representing its tea products as “pure” and “natural” despite containing traces of pesticides. Organic Consumers Ass’n v. Twinings N. Am. Inc., No. 2019 CA 4412 (D.C. Super. Ct., filed July 5, 2019). The advocacy group alleges that “[t]ests conducted by…