Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: labeling

  • Gates Calderon Joins FDLI Conference Panel to Discuss Plant-Based Foods

    Partner Katie Gates Calderon was a panelist at the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) Food Advertising, Labeling and Litigation Conference in Washington, D.C., September 13-14, 2017. She joined Jessica Almy, policy director at The Good Food Institute, and moderator Stuart M. Pape of Polsinelli PC in a discussion of “Naming of Plant-Based Food Products…

  • “Competing Priorities” Keep FDA From Ruling on Food Names Petition

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has notified the Good Food Institute (GFI) that the agency has been unable to reach a decision on the advocacy group’s March 2017 petition requesting recognition for commonly used—if technically inaccurate, per FDA definitions—food names such as “almond milk,” “soymilk,” “almond…

  • GMO Putative Class Action Targets Boar’s Head

    A consumer has filed a projected class action alleging Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc. misleadingly markets its cheeses as “natural” despite containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Forsher v. Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc., No. 17-4974 (N.D. Cal., filed August 25, 2017). The complaint asserts that GMOs are “not natural” and that “consumers do not expect…

  • NYC Delays Enforcement of Menu-Labeling Law

    Following a delay of federal rules requiring restaurants, retailers and other foodservice establishments to post calorie counts, New York City has agreed to postpone enforcement of its comparable municipal codes until May 7, 2018, matching the implementation date of the federal rules. Nat’l Assoc. of Convenience Stores v. New York City Dep’t of Hygiene, No.…

  • Two Classes Certified in Olive Oil Lawsuit

    A California federal court has certified two classes alleging that Deoleo USA Inc., importer of Bertolli and Carapelli olive oils, misleadingly labeled its products as “extra virgin” and “imported from Italy.” Koller v. Med Foods, Inc., No. 14-2400 (N.D. Cal., entered August 24, 2017). Details on the court’s denial of a motion to dismiss appear…

  • Court Dismisses “100% Parmesan” Cheese MDL

    A federal court has dismissed multidistrict litigation alleging that several brands’ “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” misled consumers because the products contained as much as 8.8 percent cellulose, finding that the claims were “doomed by the readily accessible ingredient panels on the products that disclose the presence of non-cheese ingredients.” In Re: 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese…

  • Quaker Oats Labeling Suit Preempted by FDCA, Court Rules

    A federal court has dismissed with prejudice a putative class action alleging that Quaker Oats’ use of “100% Natural” on its products misleads consumers, holding that the plaintiffs’ claims are expressly preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Gibson v. Quaker Oats Co., No. 16-4853 (N.D. Ill., entered August 14, 2017). The plaintiffs…

  • FDA Announces Forthcoming Menu-Labeling Guidance

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has announced that the agency will provide guidance on menu-labeling requirements before the end of 2017 in advance of the May 2018 compliance date. “This additional guidance will address concerns that were raised about challenges establishments faced in understanding how to meet their obligations under the…