Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: pathogen

  • FDA Extends Comment Period for Draft Guidance Regarding Salmonella in Animal Feed

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an extension of the comment period for a draft compliance policy guide that proposes “certain criteria should be considered in recommending enforcement action against animal feed or feed ingredients that are adulterated due to the presence of Salmonella.” FDA will now accept comments until December 31, 2010.…

  • FDA Confirms Listeria at Texas Fresh Produce Plant

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes at a San Antonio, Texas, processing plant implicated in four deaths. According to a November 3, 2010, FDA press release, the agency’s inspection of SanGar Fresh Cut Produce identified the bacteria “in processed celery and in multiple locations in the plant…

  • Texas Officials Investigate Deaths Linked to Listeria-Tainted Celery

    The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has ordered a San Antonio produce plant to stop processing food and recall all products shipped since January 2010 because “laboratory tests of chopped celery from the plant indicated the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.” DSHS has prohibited Sangar Fresh Cut Produce from reopening without approval from the…

  • FAO Announces Eradication of Cattle Plague Virus

    The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced the pending eradication of a fatal cattle virus known as rinderpest, hailing the achievement as “the first time in history that humankind has succeeded in wiping out an animal disease in the wild, and only the second time, after smallpox in 1980, that a disease has…

  • Supply Chain Litigation Follows Soy Grit Salmonella Contamination and Recall

    A company that makes name- and store-brand food products, including cereals, granola products, pastas, and bakery goods, has sued the supplier of soybean food ingredients allegedly contaminated with Salmonella, seeking in excess of $7 million in damages. Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. v. Thumb Oilseed Producers’ Coop., No. 10-1898 (E.D. Mo., filed October 8, 2010). According to…

  • FDA Announces Plan to Launch “Regulatory Science” Initiative

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a report titled “Advancing Regulatory Science for Public Health,” that outlines the agency’s plan to develop new scientific and technological tools, standards and approaches to improve its ability to assess the safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of FDA-regulated products, including foods and tobacco. FDA expects to use…

  • Fungal-Viral Combination Eyed in Colony Collapse Disorder

    A recent study has homed in on a possible explanation for colony collapse disorder (CCD), a mysterious ailment behind the destruction of honeybee hives worldwide. Jerry J. Bromenshenk, et al., “Iridovirus and Microsporidian Linked to Honey Bee Colony Decline,” PLoS One, October 2010. Researchers apparently found that a combined fungal and viral infection led to…

  • MDL Court Dismisses Plaintiffs in Contaminated Peanut Butter Litigation

    A multidistrict litigation (MDL) court has dismissed the claims of 16 plaintiffs who alleged that they or their minor children became ill as a result of eating peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella. In re ConAgra Peanut Butter Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1845 (N.D. Ga., decided September 29, 2010). According to the court, “The best…