Tag: coffee
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Plaintiff Alleges Kroger Underfills Coffee Cans
A plaintiff has filed a putative class action asserting that The Kroger Co.’s ground coffee packaging and labeling mislead consumers as to the amount of cups of coffee they can produce. Lorentzen v. Kroger Co., No. 20-6754 (C.D. Cal., filed July 28, 2020). “The scheme is straightforward,” the complaint alleges. “Defendant sells the Products with…
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Europe Announces Seizure of Counterfeit Dairy Products
Europol and Interpol have announced the seizure of 320 additional tonnes of “counterfeit and substandard food and beverages” following an operation that involved 83 countries, bringing the operation’s seizure total to about 12,000 tonnes. “This year’s operational activities have found a new disturbing trend to address: the infiltration of low-quality products into the supply chain,…
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OEHHA Confirms Coffee Does Not Require Prop. 65 Warnings
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has confirmed that coffee will not be required to carry warnings about risks of cancer or reproductive harm mandated by the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop. 65). In a June 3, 2019, tweet, the agency stated that its “coffee regulation has been approved,”…
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Magnum Coffee’s “Kona” Blend Challenged
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that L & K Coffee Co. misleads consumers by selling a blend of coffee it labels as “Kona,” which allegedly refers to a distinctive geographic region in Hawaii. Faison v. L & K Coffee Co., No. 19-1248 (E.D.N.Y., filed March 3, 2019). The complaint asserts that…
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OEHHA Determines Coffee Poses “No Significant Risk of Cancer”
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has determined that coffee will not be required to carry a label indicating that it contains chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm pursuant to the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65). According to the notice, “Coffee, a unique…
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Plaintiff Alleges Hazelnut Coffee Lacks Front-of-Package Flavoring Disclosure
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging New England Coffee Company (NECC) mislabels its Hazelnut Crème Coffee by failing to include a front-label disclosure that the product contains natural and artificial flavors. Dumont v. Reily Foods Co., No. 18-10907 (D. Mass., filed May 7, 2018). “Rather, buried on the back side of the label in…
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Grumpy Cat Wins $710,001 in Copyright and Trademark Suit
A California federal jury has awarded $710,001 to Grumpy Cat Ltd., which had alleged that a beverage company infringed its copyright and trademarks. Grumpy Cat Ltd. v. Grenade Beverage LLC, No. 15-2063 (C.D. Cal., verdict entered January 23, 2018). The dispute arose after Grumpy Cat licensed its trademark to Grenade Beverage LLC for a line…
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U.S. Customs Issues Rule on Coffee Bean Sourcing
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a final determination that the country of origin of coffee beans is the country in which the coffee beans are roasted. CBP ruled that “roasting green coffee beans substantially transforms the beans into a new and different article of commerce.” The agency issues country-of-origin rulings “for the…