Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

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Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

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  • Consumers Argue Sports Drink is Soda Equivalent

    Four consumers have filed a putative class action alleging that BA Sports Nutrition’s BodyArmor SuperDrink sports drinks are “unlawfully fortified junk food.” Silver v. BA Sports Nutrition LLC, No. 20-0633 (N.D. Cal., filed January 28, 2020). “BodyArmor does not provide ‘superior’ or ‘better’ hydration to Plaintiffs and other consumers than other beverages, nor are the…

  • Court Declines Approval for Chicken of the Sea Settlement

    A California federal court has refused to approve a $6.5 million settlement between Tri-Union Seafoods and commercial food preparers. In re Packaged Seafood Prods. Antitrust Litig., No. 15-2670 (S.D. Cal., entered January 17, 2020). The court found that the proposed $6.5 million, half of which would go to attorney’s fees and $2 million to costs…

  • Virginia Law Limiting Use of “Milk” Advances

    Following a vote in the Virginia House Agriculture Subcommittee, the state’s House of Delegates will reportedly consider a bill that would limit the use of “milk” to describe the “lacteal secretion” from specific animals, including cows, sheep, goats, yaks, reindeer, water buffalo, horses and donkeys. During the subcommittee discussion, one delegate reportedly suggested adding “dairy”…

  • Missouri Bill on Slack Fill Introduced

    A Missouri state senator has introduced a bill that would deem product containers not misleading for including some slack fill if they meet one of fifteen criteria. The criteria that would allow a container to be “filled to less than its capacity” include (i) for protection of the contents; (ii) compliance with reasonable industry standards;…

  • FDA Closes Production Facility After Violations

    A U.S. federal court entered a consent decree of permanent injunction prohibiting Home Style Foods, Inc., and its owner and quality manager from selling food products until the company complies with federal regulations. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections reportedly found Listeria monocytogenes in the company’s food preparation area and documented violations of seafood…

  • Codex Meetings Announced on General Principles, Pesticides

    The U.S. Codex Office has announced public meetings that will be held on February 21 and February 27, 2020, to discuss and receive comments on U.S. positions for upcoming Codex Alimentarius meetings. The February 21 meeting will focus on general principles, while the February 27 meeting will include discussions on pesticide residues.

  • 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…

  • “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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