Tag: Arkansas
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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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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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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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“Natural Source of Antioxidants” Not a Nutrient-Content Claim, Court Says
An Arkansas federal court has dismissed with prejudice a putative class action alleging that Twinings North America, Inc. mislabeled its tea by including the statement that the product is a “natural source of antioxidants” on its packaging. Craig v. Twinings North Am., Inc., No. 14-5214 (W.D. Ark., order entered February 5, 2015). The plaintiff had argued…
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Putative Class Actions Accuse Whole Foods and Breyers of “All Natural” Mislabeling
According to a putative class action removed to Arkansas federal court, Whole Foods mislabels several of its 365 Everyday Value brand products as “organic” or “all natural” despite containing synthetic ingredients. Stafford v. Whole Foods Market Cal., No. 14-420 (E.D. Ark., removed July 22, 2014). Originally filed in Arkansas state court in June, the complaint accuses…
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Federal Court Retains Jurisdiction over “All-Natural” Claims Against Frito-Lay
A federal court in Arkansas has ruled that it has jurisdiction, pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal standing decision under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles, 133 S. Ct. 1345 (2013), to adjudicate the putative class claims filed by a woman who alleges that Frito-Lay deceives consumers by…
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Donning and Doffing Class Certified; U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Compensation Ruling
A federal court in Arkansas has reportedly certified a class of poultry-processing plant workers who allege that the company has violated federal and state employment laws by failing to compensate them for the time they spend donning, doffing and sanitizing required gear and equipment, as well as walking to and from the production floor and…
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Arkansas Jury Awards Rice Farmers $48 Million in GM Contamination Litigation
After less than two hours of deliberation, an Arkansas jury has reportedly awarded 12 rice farmers nearly $48 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the 2006 contamination of conventional rice stocks with a genetically modified (GM) strain. The farmers alleged that Europe and Japan stopped importing U.S. rice after the contamination became known, causing…