Category: Year in Review 2019
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Plaintiff’s Attorneys Shift Focus to Malic Acid, Vanilla, White Chocolate
Labeling class action filings focused on purportedly misleading ingredient labels tend to come in waves, and 2019 saw a surfeit of lawsuits targeting vanilla, white chocolate and malic acid. Several plaintiffs alleged that they were misled by products listed as vanilla-flavored because, they argued, they believed they were buying products flavored with vanilla beans rather…
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“Healthy” Foods Continue to Confuse Consumers
Several 2019 putative class actions targeted food products that purportedly misled consumers because they were marketed as “healthy” despite containing ingredients with debated health benefits. Coconut and coconut-derived products were a popular target for plaintiffs, who asserted that they were misled about the benefits associated with cooking with coconut oil or drinking coconut milk because…
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CBD Explodes in Popularity But Hits Regulatory Wall
Following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the cultivation of hemp, cannabidiol (CBD) became the star ingredient of 2019, featured on its own as an oil or in food and beverages. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) struggled to keep up with the hype; while CBD stayed in legal limbo, U.S.…
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Governments Question Food Packaging Safety
Consumers and regulators have long expressed concerns about the safety of plastic and other materials in packaging for food, and in 2019, concern turned towards perfluorinated compounds (PFAS). Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) introduced legislation in May that would ban PFAS in food containers and cookware, and a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) presentation was…
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Animal Welfare Claims Challenged
As consumers prioritize animal welfare more highly when purchasing meat, more companies are claiming to hold their production facilities to high standards—and more plaintiffs are disagreeing. Advocacy groups have targeted multiple companies for their allegedly misleading marketing touting their humane housing or slaughtering practices. For example, the Organic Consumers Association and Food & Water Watch…
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No Agreement on Definitions of “Meat” and “Dairy”
The dispute over the meaning of meat- and dairy-related terms continued in 2019, with more states passing bans on the use of terms implying animal-derived products, such as “burger” or “milk,” to describe plant-based products. Nebraska, Arizona and Washington considered bans, and Arkansas’ ban was targeted with a challenge from Tofurky that has resulted in…
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Sesame Allergen Labeling Expands in UK, US
Allergen labeling grabbed headlines in the United Kingdom in 2019 as the country faced pressure from consumers concerned that prepackaged foods lacked mandated ingredient disclosures. Following the 2016 death of a teenager who consumed a premade sandwich packaged without notification of potential exposure to sesame, the U.K. Food Standards Agency launched a public consultation that…