Category: Issue
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Brown Signs California Restaurant Straw Restriction
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law that will prohibit restaurants from giving patrons straws unless the patrons request them. Brown issued a signing statement indicating that the bill’s purpose is to reduce plastic waste. “Ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals each year,” Brown states. “Nor are humans immune as…
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CFBAI Announces Agreement to Strengthen Nutrition Criteria
The Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) has announced an agreement among 18 companies to strengthen nutrition criteria for advertising to children under 12. Under the agreement, participating companies will not advertise food products to children unless the foods meet several updated standards, including reduced sodium levels. The standards…
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Kombucha Sugar, Alcohol Claims Dismissed
Two California courts have dismissed lawsuits brought by a competitor alleging kombucha companies misrepresented the amount of sugar and alcohol in their products. Tortilla Factory LLC v. Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha LLC, No. 18-2984 (C.D. Cal., entered September 11, 2018); Tortilla Factory LLC v. Better Booch LLC, No. 18-2980 (C.D. Cal., entered September 13, 2018). In…
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EEOC Alleges Harassment, Gender Bias at Del Taco
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit alleging that Del Taco LLC failed to provide “a conciliation agreement acceptable to the Commission” following allegations of discriminatory practices against female employees. EEOC v. Del Taco LLC, No. 18-1978 (C.D. Cal., filed September 17, 2018). Allegations include sexual harassment of female employees by…
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Ninth Circuit Affirms Olive-Oil Class-Action Settlement
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has rejected a class member’s objection to a settlement between Salov North America Corp. and a class of Filippo Berio olive-oil purchasers. Kumar v. Salov N. Am. Corp., No. 17-16405 (9th Cir., entered September 11, 2018). The appeals court held that the district court properly found…
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FDA Provides Update on Antimicrobial Resistance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s September 14, 2018, remarks delivered at the Pew Charitable Trusts on the issue of antimicrobial resistance, including the effects of antibiotics in animals raised for food production. Gottlieb indicated that the agency will release “a draft strategy, likely as a new guidance for…
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Proposed Law Would Ban Dog and Cat Slaughter for Consumption
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed Rep. Vern Buchanan’s (R-Fla.) Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act of 2018, a bill that would prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats for the purpose of human consumption. The bill would also prohibit the knowing sale or donation of a dog or cat to a person…
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Trader Joe’s to Settle Tuna Slack-Fill Class Action
Trader Joe’s has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle allegations that it underfills its five-ounce tuna cans. In re Trader Joe’s Tuna Litig., No. 16-1371 (C.D. Cal., motion filed September 14, 2018). Under the agreement, class members will receive $29, which will be diluted pro rata if the total amount of claims exceeds the…