Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: restaurant

  • Subway to Measure Sandwiches Under Proposed Settlement Agreement

    Subway has reached a settlement agreement in a case alleging its “footlong” sandwiches were not 12 inches in length. In re Subway Footlong Sandwich Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2439 (E.D. Wis., settlement agreement filed September 29, 2015). Under the agreement, Subway will require its franchisees to “use a tool for measuring bread…

  • Papa John’s Franchisees to Pay Workers for Labor Violations

    The U.S. Department of Labor and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have announced that four Papa John’s Pizza franchisees have agreed to pay $469,355 for labor violations. Back wages and damages will be distributed to 250 affected workers, to whom the franchisees failed to pay minimum and overtime wages and failed to provide one…

  • Chipotle Fare Is Not GMO-Free, Purported Class Action Alleges

    A California woman has filed a putative class action against Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. alleging that, despite advertised claims to the contrary, the company’s restaurants do not serve food free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Gallagher v. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., No. 15-3952 (N.D. Cal., filed August 26, 2015). The complaint asserts that although the…

  • Ireland Objects to “Artisan” McDonald’s Burger

    The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reportedly objected to McDonald’s Corp.’s use of “artisan” in describing its new product, the McMór hamburger. The Ireland-exclusive burger is marketed as an “artisan” product that incorporates several ingredients from Irish cuisine, including bacon, cabbage, baby kale, Ballymaloe relish, Charleville cheese and a “potato-flaked” bun. FSAI established…

  • NYC Board of Health Approves Salt Warnings for Certain Restaurant Fare

    The New York City (NYC) Board of Health has reportedly amended Article 81 of the NYC Health Code to require food items containing more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium to be singled out on menus and menu boards with a salt-shaker icon and an accompanying warning statement. The initiative affects restaurant chains with more than…

  • Chicago and Allstate Partner to Predict Food Safety Violations

    With help from an Allstate Insurance research team, the City of Chicago has reportedly developed a model to predict which food establishments might fail inspections among the more than 15,000 restaurants within the city’s jurisdiction. The research teams analyzed nearly 100,000 sanitation inspection reports to create the prediction model, which assesses the likelihood that a…

  • NYC Board of Health Considers Salt Warnings for Certain Restaurant Fare

    The New York City (NYC) Board of Health has reportedly agreed to consider a proposed amendment to Article 81 of the NYC Health Code that would require food items containing more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium to be singled out on menus and menu boards with a salt-shaker icon and an accompanying warning statement. The…

  • KFC Sues Chinese Media Companies for Spreading Eight-Legged Chicken Rumors

    Yum! Brands Inc.’s KFC has announced on its Chinese-language website that it has filed lawsuits against three Chinese media companies for allegedly spreading rumors that the company has bred its chickens to have eight legs and six wings. The complaint, filed in Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Court, reportedly alleges that the media companies disseminated false…