Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies

  • USDA Postpones Organic Livestock and Poultry Rule

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has delayed the effective date of a final rule amending organic livestock and poultry requirements and requests additional public comment. The effective date of the rule has been postponed from May 19, 2017, to November 14, 2017. Interested parties may submit written comments by June 9, 2017.   Issue…

  • Court Denies Environmental Groups’ Intervention in Seafood Traceability Case

    A federal court has ruled that three environmental groups lack standing to intervene in a lawsuit to block implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program. Alfa Int’l Seafood v. Ross, No. 17­0031 (D.D.C., order entered April 17, 2017). The court held that the Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana and the Center for Biological Diversity failed…

  • NAD Recommends Changes to Beech-Nut Baby Food Ads

    After reviewing a challenge by the maker of Gerber baby foods, the National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that Beech-­Nut Nutrition discontinue several advertising claims but rejected complaints that Beech-­Nut’s ads implied its baby foods are fresh. NAD warned Beech­-Nut against use of the term “coldpuree” unless it “conspicuously” explains that foods are cooked after…

  • SEC, DOJ End Hampton Creek Investigations

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have reportedly ended their investigations into Hampton Creek’s alleged sales­-inflation buyback operation, in which employees purchased jars of the company’s Just Mayo product then sold the jars back to the company. Bloomberg initially reported that the company had expensed $1.4 million for “Inventory…

  • USDA, FDA Nominations Near Senate Votes

    The Senate Agriculture Committee has approved Sonny Perdue’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with Perdue receiving support from all members of the committee except Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-­N.Y.), along with an abstention from Sonny Perdue’s cousin, David Perdue (R-­Ga.). The full Senate vote has not yet been scheduled. See Politico, March…

  • DOJ Reaches Consent Decree with Valley Milk Over Contaminated Milk Powders

    The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has obtained a consent decree against Valley Milk Products LLC prohibiting the sale of more than four million pounds of milk powder products and preventing the company from manufacturing the products in the future. U.S. v. All 50 pound high heat nonfat dry milk powder (Grade A), No. 16-­0076,…

  • DeLauro, Tester Target Brazilian Beef Following Corruption Allegations

    Sen. Jon Tester (D-­Mont.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D­-Conn.) have urged the federal government to act in response to a Brazilian investigation allegedly finding that more than 100 of the country’s health inspectors allowed the sale of rancid meat, falsified export documents or failed to inspect meatpacking plants. Tester introduced a bill in the U.S.…

  • Bill Addresses Foreign Acquisitions of U.S. Food and Agricultural Businesses

    The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would give food and agriculture officials greater oversight of mergers and acquisitions involving U.S. food companies and foreign entities and includes new criteria to determine whether a transaction could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign company. The bill would make the Secretary of…