Category: 8th Circuit
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Court Sides with Tofurky, Blocks Arkansas from Enforcing Meat Labeling Law
A federal court has blocked the state of Arkansas from enforcing a 2019 law that made it illegal for companies to use words like “burger” or “sausage” to describe products not made from animals. Turtle Island Foods SPC v. Soman, No. 19-0514 (E.D. Ark., entered September 30, 2022). The ruling was in a lawsuit brought…
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Beyond Meat Faces New Claim that It Misled Consumers on Protein Content
Three consumers have filed a putative class action against alternative-meat manufacturer Beyond Meat, Inc., alleging the company misled consumers as to the amount of protein in its products. Garcia v. Beyond Meat, Inc., No. 22-297 (S.D. Iowa, filed on September 9, 2022). The plaintiffs—who live in Colorado, Iowa and Florida—allege they relied on representations regarding…
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FSIS Violated APA in Removing Pork Line Speed Limits, Court Rules
A Minnesota federal court has ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) when it adopted the New Swine Inspection System (NSIS), which eliminated line speed limits for pork processing. United Food & Com. Workers Union, Local 663 v. USDA, No. 19-2660 (D. Minn.,…
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Plaintiff Challenges “Clean” Panera Food
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that Panera Bread Co., or St. Louis Bread Co., markets its products as “100% clean” but sells products with ingredients “that are artificial, chemical, and/or synthetic preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, and colors.” Sally v. Panera Bread Co., No. 20-1068 (St. Louis Cir. Ct., filed August 13, 2020). The…
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Tofurky Granted Preliminary Injunction on Arkansas Meat-Labeling Law
An Arkansas federal court has granted Turtle Island Foods SPC, which does business as Tofurky Co., a preliminary injunction preventing the enforcement against it of an Arkansas law prohibiting the use of meat-related terms to describe plant-based products on food packaging. Turtle Island Foods SPC v. Soman, No. 19-0514 (E.D. Ark., C. Div., entered December…
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Court Declines to Block Missouri “Meat” Law
A Missouri federal court has reportedly declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the state from enforcing its law defining meat as derived from animals. The law requires plant-based or laboratory-grown food to feature a label indicating its source. Turtle Island Foods, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Good Food Institute have reportedly appealed…
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Tofurky Co. Challenges Arkansas Meat Law
Turtle Island Foods, which does business as The Tofurky Co., has filed a civil-rights action alleging an Arkansas law that “prohibits purveyors of plant- or cell-based meats from using the words ‘meat’ and related terms like ‘beef,’ ‘pork,’ ‘roast,’ and ‘sausage’” is “a restriction on commercial speech that prevents companies from sharing truthful and non-misleading…
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GFI Challenges Missouri Definition of “Meat”
The Good Food Institute (GFI) and Tofurky Co. have filed a civil-rights action alleging that Missouri “criminalizes truthful speech by prohibiting ‘misrepresenting’ a product as ‘meat’ if that product is ‘not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry.’” Turtle Island Foods v. Richardson, No. 18-4173 (W.D. Mo., filed August 27, 2018). The lawsuit responds to…