Tag: cheese
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Class Certified in Fat-Free Cheddar Cheese “Natural” Lawsuit
A California federal court has certified a class of consumers challenging the “natural” label on Kraft’s fat-free cheddar cheese product but limited the class only to consumers who relied on that labeling when purchasing the product. Morales v. Kraft Foods Grp., Inc., No. 14-4387 (C.D. Cal., order entered June 23, 2015). The complaint had asserted…
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TV Documentary Alleges Some French Cheeses Produced Without Fresh Milk
French restaurateurs and food critics are calling for new food-labeling rules after a documentary airing on France 2 reported that some of the country’s food manufacturers have been using vegetable fat-based substitutes for fresh milk when producing cheese products. In “Artificial Cheese on Your Plate” (“Du Faux Fromage Dans Votre Assiette”), cheese producers are reportedly…
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Wisconsin Manufacturer Receives Jail Sentence and $750,000 Fine over Tainted Cheese
An Illinois federal court has sentenced the former president of a Wisconsin cheese company to five days in jail, one year of probation and a $750,000 fine for lying to U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors about Queso Cincho de Guerrero cheese imported from Mexico and tainted with E. coli and Salmonella. U.S. v. Zurita,…
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New Report Claims Industry and Government Promote “Dairy Junk Foods”
Public Health attorney and author Michele Simon has issued a report titled “Whitewashed: How Industry and Government Promote Dairy Junk Foods.” According to Simon, dairy foods have gotten “a pass” as the public health community focuses on “obvious culprits such as soft drinks and fast food” to address the nation’s “public health epidemic due to…
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Must Cheese Be Labeled GMO?
According to a Harvard microbiologist, 80 to 90 percent of the hard cheese produced in the United States uses, as part of the curd-separation process, rennet made with a genetically modified (GMO) ingredient—chymosin. Noting that “chymosin produced by E. coli was the first enzyme made with recombinant DNA technology approved for use in food. .…
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FDA Clarifies Position on Use of Wood Shelving in Artisanal Cheesemaking
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a clarification of its position on artisanal cheesemakers’ use of wood shelving, which can aid in aging cheese by controlling moisture to form rinds and hosting microbes that add character and flavor. FDA’s Constituent Update called reports that the agency established a new rule banning wood…
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Bipartisan Coalition Contests EU Restrictions on Dairy Product Names
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) have written a March 11, 2014, letter to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging the agencies to reject the European Union’s (EU’s) request that product names such as feta, parmesan and muenster be reserved as “geographical indicators.” As part of…
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Confusion Deemed Likely in Cracker Barrel Infringement Dispute
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a district court properly granted Kraft Foods a preliminary injunction against the sale of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBOCS) food products in grocery stores under Kraft’s registered trademark name “Cracker Barrel.” Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., No. 13-2559…