Tag: beef
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FSIS Implements ‘Hold and Test’ Policy For Poultry and Beef
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that, as of February 8, 2013, it will require producers of non-intact raw beef and all ready-to-eat products containing meat and poultry to hold shipments until they pass agency testing for foodborne pathogens. FSIS announced its plan to implement this policy in…
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Partial Settlement Reached in FCA Action Brought Against Meat Packing Company
The owners of the California-based Hallmark Meat Packing Co. have reportedly settled claims that they committed fraud under the False Claims Act (FCA) by supplying ground beef to school lunch programs without meeting contractual commitments to treat their animals humanely. The Humane Soc’y of the U.S. v. Hallmark Meat Packing Co., No. 08-00221 (C.D. Cal.,…
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ABC News Seeks to Dismiss $1.2 Billion “Pink Slime” Lawsuit
After removing to federal court a defamation lawsuit brought by the company that makes lean finely textured beef (LFBT), ABC News has reportedly filed a motion to dismiss claiming that its news stories referring to the product as “pink slime” are protected speech under the First Amendment. Beef Products, Inc. v. Am. Broadcasting Cos., Inc.,…
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Canadian Victims of Contaminated Beef File Class Action Claims
Two British Columbia residents have reportedly filed individual and putative class action suits against the Canadian meat processor that was forced to recall 1,800 ground beef products in an E. coli contamination outbreak that involved retail chains in the United States and Canada. The class action, filed October 12, 2012, by Erin Thornton in B.C.…
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Alleged E. Coli Injury Claims Filed in Canada
An Edmonton, Alberta, resident has filed a putative class action against a beef processor with operations in Alberta and Nebraska, alleging that he became severely ill from consuming the company’s beef, which was recalled in September 2012 due to an E. coli outbreak. Harrison v. XL Foods Inc., No. 1203-14727 (Can. Alta. Q.B., filed October…
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Meat Processor Sues ABC News for $1.2 Billion over “Pink Slime” Reports
Beef Products Inc. (BPI) has filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News, Diane Sawyer and two former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees, among others, claiming that they “knowingly and intentionally published nearly 200 false and disparaging statements regarding the company and its product, lean finely textured beef (LFTB).” Beef Prods. Inc. v. ABC, Inc.,…
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JPML Rejects Motion to Consolidate and Centralize Tainted Beef Litigation
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has denied a motion seeking to consolidate and transfer to a multidistrict litigation court three cases filed in federal courts against companies allegedly responsible for a 2009 E. coli outbreak involving contaminated ground beef. In re: Ne. Contaminated Beef Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 2346 (J.P.M.L., D. Conn., decided…
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“REAL Beef Act” Would Require LFTB Labeling
U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) has reportedly introduced legislation that would require manufacturers to label products containing lean finely textured beef (LFTB) trimmings. Dubbed the “Requiring Easy and Accurate Labeling” or REAL Beef Act, the proposal would mandate such labels “at the final point of sale” to inform consumers that they are purchasing what Pingree…