Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: GMO

  • GM Salmon Debacle “A Taste of Worse to Come”?

    A recent Nature editorial warns that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) reluctance to approve genetically-modified (GM) salmon for market could hinder future research into new gene-editing techniques. Titled “Fishy Business,” the article claims that even though a draft assessment found AquaBounty Technologies’ GM salmon “environmentally benign,” FDA conducted many of its deliberations “behind…

  • Plaintiffs Dismiss Lawsuit Against Gruma for Alleged “All Natural” Chips Mislabeling

    A California federal court has granted the plaintiffs’ request to dismiss their entire action with prejudice in a case accusing Gruma Corp. of labeling its Mission Restaurant Style tortilla chips as “all natural” despite containing genetically modified corn. Cox v. Gruma Corp., No. 12-6502 (N.D. Cal., order entered July 25, 2014). The plaintiffs’ stipulation to dismiss…

  • EU Publishes Draft Directive Allowing Member States to Ban GMOs

    At the request of 13 member states, the Council of the European Union (EU) has adopted a draft directive granting its member states “more flexibility to decide whether or not they wish to cultivate genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on their territory.” In a July 23, 2014, press release, the council states that it sought “to…

  • Scientist Sues Journal for Plan to Retract Golden Rice Study

    Tufts University Senior Research Scientist Guangwen Tang has reportedly accused the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) of defaming her with its plan to retract her 2012 article—“β-carotene in Golden Rice is as good as p-carotene in oil at providing vitamin A to children”—for allegedly prob- lematic research protocols. Filing in Middlesex County Court, Tang has…

  • Hawaii County Not to Release Info on GM Papaya Growers

    A Hawaii state court has reportedly ordered Hawaii County not to publicly disclose the identity and specific location of farms that grow genetically modified (GM) papayas. While the order apparently allows the county to maintain registration information under a December 2013 law that also prohibited open-air use and testing of GM crops, the court agreed…

  • 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. .…

  • Vermont GE Labeling Law Challenged as Constitutionally Infirm

    Four food, beverage and business trade organizations have filed a constitutionally based challenge to Vermont’s recently enacted law that would require food and beverage manufacturers to disclose on product labels that their products are “produced with genetic engineering” (GE), or “may be” or are “partially” so produced and to prohibit the use of terms such…

  • California Senate Rejects GM Food Labeling Legislation

    A California bill requiring labels to disclose genetically modified (GM) ingredients in food recently failed to pass after a close vote in the state senate. Opponents argued that it would cost the average consumer as much as $400 per year for labeling a category of food that presents no risk to the public. Vermont became…