Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: 4th Circuit

  • Heavy Metals Baby Food Suit Dismissed for Lack of Standing

    A Virginia federal court has held that plaintiffs alleging Gerber Products Co. sold baby foods adulterated with heavy metals do not have standing to sue. In re Gerber Prods. Co. Heavy Metals Baby Food Litig., No. 21-0269 (E.D. Va., Alexandria Div., entered October 17, 2022). The plaintiffs did not assert standing on the basis of personal…

  • Kombucha Maker Accused of Misleading Consumers on Products’ Alcohol Content

    A group of consumers have filed a proposed class action against a North Carolina kombucha company, alleging the company misleads consumers as to the alcohol content of its beverages. Burke v. Tribucha, Inc., No. 22-0406 (E.D.N.C., filed October 6, 2022). Kombucha is a fermented tea drink that, when made without pasteurization, can develop a high…

  • Gruyere Can Come from Anywhere, Court Rules

    A Virginia federal court has reportedly confirmed that gruyere cheese does not need to be produced in the region near Gruyères, Switzerland, to carry the name in American stores. A consortium of cheesemakers in France and Switzerland near the region had appealed after the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board denied its application for a trademark,…

  • Snyder’s-Lance, Frito-Lay End Pretzel Crisps Dispute

    Snyder’s-Lance Inc. has voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit seeking to appeal a decision holding that it could not trademark “Pretzel Crisps” as a name for its product, which Frito-Lay North America Inc. had challenged before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Snyder’s-Lance Inc. v. Frito-Lay N. Am. Inc., No. 21-1758 (4th Cir., filed August 31, 2021).…

  • “Granules” In Chicken Salad Caused Illness, Lawsuit Alleges

    A consumer has filed a lawsuit alleging that she became ill after eating a chicken salad containing “hard, gray-colored granules” with a “foul odor and taste” at a location of Bojangles Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits. Green v. Bojangles Restaurants, Inc., No. 17-2936 (D.S.C., removed to federal court October 30, 2017). The plaintiff asserts that she ordered…

  • Snyder’s-Lance Appeals TTAB Denial of Pretzel Crisps Trademark

    Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. has filed a lawsuit in North Carolina federal court appealing a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) ruling that found the term “Pretzel Crisps” to be generic, arguing that TTAB “failed to consider all the evidence of the public’s perception of the Pretzel Crisps brand, despite clear direction from the Federal Circuit to…

  • Advocacy Group Sues Agencies Over CAFO Approval

    Food & Water Watch has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Farm Service Agency seeking vacatur of agency decisions that guaranteed loans and allowed construction of a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in the Choptank River watershed on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Food & Water Watch v. United States Dep’t…

  • Consumer Group Files FOIA Lawsuit for List of NPIS Participants

    Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group, has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service over the agencies’ denial of the group’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests asking for the names of companies that opted to participate in the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS).…