Keeping the food, beverage and agriculture industry up-to-date for more than 20 years.

Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Categories

  • Packaging of US-Made Feta Prompts Suit Alleging Consumer Fraud

    A Florida consumer has sued cheesemaker Lactalis American Group, Inc., alleging the company misrepresented the authenticity of its President-branded feta cheese. Gallagher v. Lactalis American Group, Inc., No. 22-00614 (W.D.N.Y., filed Aug. 14, 2022). The plaintiff alleges that Lactalis misrepresented its feta cheese as made in Europe under the President brand, when it is made in…

  • Court Dismisses Bagel Bites Labeling Lawsuit

    An Illinois federal court has granted Kraft Heinz Foods Co.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the labeling noting the inclusion of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce in Bagel Bites is misleading. Jackson v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co., No. 21-5219 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., entered August 3, 2022). “Central to all of Plaintiff s claims is…

  • Chicken Tenders Must Be Chicken Tenderloin, Plaintiff Argues

    A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. misled her into believing that the restaurant’s chicken tenders were composed of chicken tenderloins. Sanders v. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc., No. 22-4477 (E.D.N.Y., filed July 29, 2022). “Traditionally, chicken tenders are made from chicken tenderloins,” the complaint asserts. “Chicken tenderloins are the small…

  • CSPI Urges FDA to Establish Standardized Front-of-Package Labeling

    The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a regulatory petition asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to require on the principal display panel of a food an easy-to-understand, standardized system that is 1) mandatory, 2) nutrient-specific, 3) includes calories, and is 4) interpretative with respect to the levels of…

  • USDA to Update Organic Regulations for Livestock, Poultry

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting comments on proposed changes to organic standards for livestock and poultry production. Issues addressed in the proposed changes include livestock health care practices, living conditions, transport and slaughter. The many proposed changes include a limit on the types of physical alterations permissible in organic livestock production, such as…

  • New England Hospitality Groups Challenge Massachusetts Animal Cruelty Law

    The National Pork Producers Council and a group of organizations representing restaurants and hotels in New England have filed a lawsuit aiming to enjoin Massachusetts from enforcing a law set to take effect August 15, 2022, banning the sale of pork produced from animals “that the business owner or operator knows or should know is…

  • GAO Issues Report on Promoting Healthy Eating Across Agencies

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report suggesting that federal agencies can better coordinate guidance on healthy eating. The report found that GAO’s previous recommendations had not been implemented, including a 2021 recommendation that Congress “consider identifying and directing a federal entity to lead a strategy on diet-related efforts.” The agency also…

  • D.C. Upholds Ban on Raw Butter

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling finding a challenge to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) prohibition on interstate sales of unpasteurized butter to be meritless. McAfee v. FDA, No. 21-5170 (D.C. Cir., entered June 10, 2022). A lower court previously dismissed a challenge filed…

Questions for our authors?