Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: labeling

  • Beverage Mislabeling Suit Dismissed After Plaintiffs Admit They Knew ECJ Was Sugar

    A California federal court has ruled that plaintiffs who admitted to reading Healthy Beverage’s website cannot sue the company for listing evaporated cane juice (ECJ) on the ingredient list rather than sugar. Swearingen v. Healthy Beverage, No. 13-­4385 (N.D. Cal., order entered May 5, 2017). The plaintiffs initially filed a putative class action claiming Healthy…

  • Class Actions Claim “Truffle” Oil Contains Chemical Flavoring, Not Real Truffles

    Two putative class actions allege that Trader Joe’s “Black Truffle Flavored” olive oil and Monini’s “White Truffle Flavored” olive oil are flavored with synthetic chemicals rather than truffles. Brumfield v. Trader Joe’s, No. 17-­3239 (S.D.N.Y, filed May 2, 2017); Jessani v. Monini N. Am., No. 17-­3257 (S.D.N.Y., filed May 2, 2017). The plaintiffs argue that…

  • FDA Extends Menu Labeling Compliance Date to 2018

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the compliance date for calorie-­count menu labeling from May 5, 2017, to May 7, 2018, and is inviting public comment on the issue. The menu-­labeling rule applies to restaurants with 20 or more locations, as well as “grab-­and-­go” foodservice vendors such as supermarkets, coffee shops and…

  • Ginger Ale Labeling Suit to Proceed Against Dr Pepper

    A federal court has reportedly refused to dismiss a mislabeling class action alleging Dr Pepper’s Canada Dry Ginger Ale contains “real ginger” but dismissed the plaintiffs’ fraud claims with leave to amend. Fitzhenry-­Russell v. Dr Pepper Snapple Grp., Inc., No. 17­0564 (N.D. Cal., motion hearing April 19, 2017). While the court found the plaintiffs’ labeling…

  • Eighth Circuit Upholds Convictions in Halal Mislabeling Scheme

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld the convictions of Midamar Corp., founder William Aossey and his son Jalel Aossey, perpetrators of a scheme to falsely label meat as halal. U.S. v. Aossey, Nos. 16­1611, 16­1688, 16­1761 (8th Cir., order entered April 14, 2017). The court rejected the defendants’ arguments that…

  • “Technically Correct” Labels Can Be Misleading

    The Ninth Circuit has reversed the dismissal of a putative class action alleging that Gerber’s baby food labels misled consumers about the nutritional value of its baby foods despite being “technically correct.” Bruton v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 15­15174 (9th Cir., order entered April 19, 2017). The plaintiff argued that the presence of impermissible nutrient…

  • Court Dismisses “No Preservatives Added” Claims Against Herr Foods

    A Pennsylvania federal court has dismissed without prejudice a consumer lawsuit alleging Herr Foods Inc. labels its snack products as free from added preservatives despite containing citric acid. Hu v. Herr Foods, Inc., No. 16­5037 (E.D. Pa., order entered April 24, 2017). Additional information on the complaint appears in Issue 609 of this Update. Herr…

  • Asahi Facing False-Source Putative Class Action

    A consumer has filed a projected class action alleging Asahi Beer U.S.A., Inc. misleads customers into believing that Asahi Super Dry beer is made in Japan despite being produced in Canada. Panvini v. Asahi Beer U.S.A., Inc., No. 17-­1896 (N.D. Cal., filed April 5, 2017). The plaintiff claims that although most of the Asahi Dry…