Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: food safety

  • House Approves Bill Overhauling Food Safety Laws

    By a 283-142 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009” (H.R. 2749). The day before its passage, the measure failed to garner the two-thirds majority vote needed to approve legislation submitted under “suspension of the rules,” which would not have allowed any floor amendments. The second submission,…

  • Independent Investigator Disparages Canada’s Response to 2008 Listeria Outbreak

    A new report by an independent investigator is harshly critical of Canada’s food safety system with respect to the 2008 Listeria outbreak linked to the deaths of 22 people. Sheila Weatherill, a nurse and health executive who led the federally appointed investigation, said the system was caught unprepared and acted without urgency, citing a void…

  • McDonough to Address Risks Related to Food Imports at Food-Borne Illness Litigation Forum

    Shook Agribusiness and Food Safety Practice Co-Chair Madeleine McDonough will serve on a panel during the American Conference Institute’s “3rd National Forum on FoodBorne Illness Litigation, Advanced Strategies for Assessing, Managing & Defending Food Contamination Claims,” to be held October 26-27, 2009, in Chicago. McDonough joins a faculty that includes federal regulators and in-house counsel…

  • Food Safety Working Group Announces New Standards to Reduce E. Coli, Salmonella Outbreaks

    The Food Safety Working Group (FSWG) created by President Barack Obama (D) has unveiled a “new, public health-based approach to food safety based on three core principles: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery,” according to a July 7, 2009, White House press release. Chaired by Health and Human Services (HHS)…

  • Documentary Aims to Expose Purported Dangers of Food Industry

    A new documentary titled Food, Inc. apparently paints a vivid picture of the foods Americans eat–from bigger-breasted chickens fattened artificially to new strains of deadly E. coli bacteria, to a food supply controlled by a handful of corporations. The filmmakers claim these purported dangers create harmful effects on public health, the environment, and worker and…

  • EPA Issues Final Rule Regarding Silver Residues in Surface-Sanitizing Solutions

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final rule that amends the exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of silver, excluding silver salts, in or on all foods when used in public eating places or applied on dairy- or food-processing equipment that comes into contact with surface-sanitizing solutions. The regulation requires…

  • New FDA Commissioner Supports Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has expressed support for the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, which seeks to increase the agency’s authority over U.S. and foreign food producers, including the power to issue mandatory recalls of tainted foods. “FDA needs new legal authorities to succeed in these roles and protect…

  • New Report Advocates Better Integration of Food Safety Mechanisms

    The Food Safety Research Consortium (FSRC) has released a report titled Strong Partnerships for Safer Food: An Agenda for Strengthening State and Local Roles in the Nation’s Food Safety System, which recommends the creation of an “integrated food safety system that operates as a full partnership among federal, state and local agencies.” A collaboration among…