Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: cheese

  • U.S.-Canada Trade Dispute Centers on Milk

    President Donald Trump has indicated that he will attempt to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement after making several negative comments about Canada’s dairy pricing. The dispute centers on ultra-filtered milk, a product used in the production of cheese that U.S. dairy farmers previously sold to Canadian companies. After Canadian dairy farmers in Ontario…

  • Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Makers of Allegedly Contaminated Cheese

    The widow of a Vermont man who died after eating raw­milk cheese allegedly contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes has filed suit against the manufacturer of the cheese, Vulto Creamery. Friedman v. Vulto Creamery LLC, No. 17­-0283 (N.D.N.Y., filed March 10, 2017). Vulto issued a recall of its Ouleout, Miranda, Heinennellie and Willowemoc raw-­milk cheeses in March…

  • Court Denies Stay for FDA “Natural” Guidance in Kraft Artificial Coloring Case

    A California federal court has denied Kraft Food Group Inc.’s request to stay class action litigation alleging the company’s fat-free cheese product is misleadingly labeled “natural” because it contains artificial coloring, finding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) expected guidance on the term “natural” does not affect the issues of the case. Morales…

  • Food Manufacturer Sentenced to Prison for Selling Contaminated Cheese

    Christian Rivas, owner of Oasis Brands Inc., has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for two charges that he sold cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instructed the company to stop distribution until it remedied its practices. FDA inspected Oasis in August 2014, found several violations and…

  • Castle Cheese Executive to Pay $5,000 over Adulterated Parmesan

    Castle Cheese Inc. President Michelle Myrter has reportedly been sentenced to three years of probation, 200 hours of community service at a food bank and a $5,000 fine for misdemeanor charges of food adulteration for selling “100% Parmesan” cheese containing high levels of substitutes, including cellulose. Following a federal investigation and a raid on company…

  • Parmesan Product Cases Consolidated

    The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has consolidated several putative class actions against a number of companies alleging they labeled their grated-parmesan products as “100% Parmesan” despite containing cellulose. In re 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2705 (J.P.M.L., transfer order entered June 2, 2016). The consolidated cases include…

  • Dairy Groups Urge White House to Challenge WHO Guidelines Restricting Milk Consumption by Young Children

    The National Milk Producers Federation, International Dairy Foods Association and U.S. Dairy Export Council have authored a May 9, 2016, letter to President Barack Obama (D), asking the White House to reject proposed World Health Organization (WHO) guidance that “would discourage consumption of nutritious dairy products by young children.” Slated for presentation at the 69th…

  • Cheese Cos. Plead Guilty to Adulterating Parmesan

    Two cheese companies and an executive from a third company have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and sale of adulterated and misbranded Parmesan cheese products. The companies, Universal Cheese & Drying, Inc. and International Packing, LLC, were charged with conspiracy to introduce misbranded cheese products into interstate commerce and to commit money…