Tag: Iowa
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Plaintiffs Allege Contaminated Chicken Salad Caused Illness
Two consumers have filed a lawsuit alleging that they contracted Salmonella from deli chicken salad they purchased at Fareway Stores Inc. Porter v. Fareway Stores Inc., No. 18-0050 (S.D. Iowa, filed February 20, 2018). The plaintiffs, a married couple, allege that the contaminated chicken salad sent them to an emergency room—with the wife requiring further hospitalization—and that they…
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President Commutes Meatpacking Plant Executive’s 27-Year Sentence
President Donald Trump has commuted the 27-year sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, a former kosher meatpacking plant executive convicted of 86 counts of federal bank fraud and money laundering. After Rubashkin was sentenced in 2009, politicians, law enforcement officials and legal experts argued that his case was tainted by prosecutorial misconduct, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals…
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Halal Food Co. Executive Found Guilty of Making False Export Statements
An Iowa federal jury has found William Aossey , the former owner of Midamar Corp., guilty of making false export statements along with conspiracy and wire fraud stemming from the company’s misrepresenta- tion of the source of food exported to Malaysia and Indonesia. U.S. v. Aossey, No. 14-0116 (N.D. Iowa, jury verdict entered July 13,…
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Insurer Sues to Avoid Coverage for Templeton Whiskey’s Alleged Mislabeling
Society Insurance has filed a lawsuit in Iowa federal court seeking a declaration that its policy does not require it to defend or indemnify Templeton Rye Spirits in a putative consumer class action alleging that the whiskey distiller falsely represented its products as made from a Prohibition-era recipe. Soc’y Ins. v. Templeton Rye Spirits LLC, No.…
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Operations Manager of Halal Co. Midamar Pleads Guilty
Philip Payne, the former operations manager of Halal-food company Midamar Corp., has pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to make and deliver false certificates and writings stemming from Midamar’s export of beef to Indonesia and Malaysia purportedly prepared in accordance with Islamic law. U.S. v. Payne, No. 14-cr-0143 (N.D. Iowa, request for approval filed January…
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Jury Clears Flavorings Company in Consumer’s Diacetyl Lawsuit
A jury in an Iowa federal court has reportedly determined that International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. (IFF) was not liable for the lung condition a man allegedly developed from microwaving popcorn containing diacetyl, a butter flavoring ingredient used in the product. Stults v. Int’l Flavors & Fragrances Inc., No. 11-4077 (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Iowa,…
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Quality Egg to Pay $6.8 Million Fine in Salmonella Outbreak
As anticipated, Quality Egg LLC and its former owners, Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter, have entered guilty pleas to charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. Additional information about the plea agreement appears in Issue 524 of this Update. They admitted that the company’s shell eggs, shipped to buyers in states throughout the…
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Guilty Pleas Expected in Tainted Egg Outbreak
Federal prosecutors have reportedly filed criminal charges against Iowa-based Quality Egg LLC and two former company executives—Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter—over a 2010 Salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands across the country and resulted in the recall of some 550 million eggs. United States v. Quality Egg, LLC, No. 14-cr-3024 (N.D. Iowa, filed May 21,…