Category: U.S. Circuit Courts
-
Grocers File Lawsuit Over BE Standard
The Center for Food Safety and several food retailers have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging that the agency “fell far short of fulfilling the promise of meaningful labeling” of bioengineered (BE) foods with its 2019 labeling rules. Natural Grocers v. Perdue, No. 20-5151 (N.D. Cal., filed July 27, 2020).…
-
Court Dismisses Mondelez Alkalized Cocoa Lawsuit
A New York federal court has dismissed a putative class action alleging that Mondelez misled consumers by labeling Oreos as “always made with real cocoa” despite containing cocoa refined through an alkalizing process. Harris v. Mondelez Global LLC, No. 19-2249 (E.D.N.Y., entered July 28, 2020). The plaintiffs argued that the “representation ‘real cocoa’ is false,…
-
Union Targets FSIS Poultry Processing Waivers in Lawsuit
Several labor unions and their affiliated international union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), have filed a lawsuit urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to “set aside a waiver program” for exceeding maximum line speeds on the grounds that FSIS adopted the program without adhering to…
-
Plaintiff Alleges Kroger Underfills Coffee Cans
A plaintiff has filed a putative class action asserting that The Kroger Co.’s ground coffee packaging and labeling mislead consumers as to the amount of cups of coffee they can produce. Lorentzen v. Kroger Co., No. 20-6754 (C.D. Cal., filed July 28, 2020). “The scheme is straightforward,” the complaint alleges. “Defendant sells the Products with…
-
Meatpackers Sue OSHA for COVID-19 Protections
A group of workers at a Maid-Rite Specialty Foods production plant has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require Maid-Rite to establish procedures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infection. Does v. Scalia, No. 20-1260 (M.D. Penn., filed July 22, 2020). The plaintiffs allege that they face…
-
Burger King Impossible Whopper Lawsuit Dismissed
A Florida federal court has dismissed a putative class action alleging that Burger King Corp. misled consumers with the release of its Impossible Whopper. Williams v. Burger King Corp., No. 19-24755 (S.D. Fla., entered July 20, 2020). The plaintiff, a vegan, argued that Burger King’s marketing misled him into believing the Impossible Whopper, made with the…
-
Californians Can Buy Out-of-State Foie Gras, Court Rules
A California court has reportedly ruled that Californians can buy foie gras from out-of-state sellers and have it delivered within the state to avoid the state’s ban on sales or gifts of foie gras. The ruling applies only to individual purchasers, as restaurants and retailers are still prohibited from selling foie gras, according to the Associated…
-
Second Circuit Rejects Barilla Class Certification
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has sided with an objector to a class settlement in a lawsuit alleging that Barilla USA pasta boxes contained too much slack fill. Berni v. Barilla S.p.A., No. 19-1921 (2nd Cir., entered July 8, 2020). The lawsuit asserts that Barilla reduced the amount of pasta in…