Food manufacturers received a setback earlier this week, when Judge Thelton Henderson of the Northern District of California ruled that where a consumer identifies a specific class period in which a defendant food manufacturer labeled its products in a deceptive manner, the consumer does not have to allege the specific date he or she purchased … Continue Reading
Like several California courts before it, a recent Missouri federal court case reminds food manufacturers that they must carefully monitor the marketing claims made on the front of their products’ labeling packages regardless of whether an ingredient list is included on the packaging. In Thornton v. Pinnacle Food Groups LLC, the Court denied a motion … Continue Reading
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to host a webinar on Monday, June 27, 2016, to review the agency’s recent Nutrition Facts Labeling Final Rules and what industry needs to know about the changes to nutrition facts labels and serving sizes. The FDA published the final rules in the Federal Register on May 27, … Continue Reading
In a major step aimed at helping consumers maintain healthy dietary practices, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule on a new nutrition facts panel that will be required on the back of packaged food and beverages in the coming years. The final rule revises FDA regulations to provide updated nutrition … Continue Reading
As the days grow longer and the snow starts to melt, so, too, does the debate on genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling begin to heat up. This is because Vermont’s Genetically Engineered Food Labeling Act—which requires that food entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering and offered for retail sale in Vermont be labeled as … Continue Reading
In the past few months, consumers may have noticed that some popular chain restaurants have started to display calorie and other nutrition information on menus and placards. The reason can be traced to the release by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its final rules regarding “Nutrition Labeling of Standard Menu Items in Restaurants … Continue Reading
My colleague Anne Glazer recently co-authored an article with Connie Kirby of Northwest Food Processors Association titled “Summary of Regulatory Intersection between the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration over the Labeling and Advertising of Food Products: Implication for Genetically Engineered Foods.” Prepared for Oregon Governor Kitzhaber’s Task Force on Genetically-Engineered Agriculture, … Continue Reading
Nearly a year ago on August 5, 2013, we reported on the blog that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had published a final rule establishing a regulatory definition of the term “gluten-free” for voluntary use in the labeling of foods. The final rule is intended to provide a uniform definition of the term “gluten-free” … Continue Reading
This is a follow-up on the entry on VPN Pizza. It results from this interview by a blogger with Eli Colvin, head baker of the MODEL Bakery in California, and Don Sadowsky, whom the interviewer identifies as a "bread pal." Don happens to be my bread pal, too, which is how I found the interview. A … Continue Reading
In its much-anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court last week declared that the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the federal Lanham Act can coexist side-by-side. In other words, even if you comply perfectly with the FDA’s labeling rules on something, you can still be sued by a competitor for a misleading label … Continue Reading
The Astiana case against Ben & Jerry’s, about which we’ve written here and here, has been voluntarily dismissed. Since the case was no longer a class action, the parties are not required to announce whether any money changed hands and one suspects that there is an ironclad confidentiality agreement around those terms. … Continue Reading
An article in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal reminded me of a point I’ve been trying to make for years but didn’t have a good hook to do so. Now that this idea is in print, I do, so here goes. The article concerns a group called Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which gives pizzerias certificates called … Continue Reading
Last week U.S. Representatives Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) introduced a bipartisan bill that would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to foods produced from, containing, or consisting of a bioengineered organism. The result has been either applause or outrage depending on which side of the GMO labeling debate … Continue Reading
You’ll remember the scene from "Casablanca." Ilse (Ingrid Bergman) comes in and Rick (Humphrey Bogart) says, "Your unexpected visit isn’t connected by any chance with the letters of transit. It seems as long as I have those letters, I’ll never be lonely." That’s sort of how I feel about "all natural" product labeling litigation. So … Continue Reading
The Nutrition Facts panel found on many food packages, that most of us have been scanning in grocery aisles for the past 20 years, is expected to undergo some significant changes starting this week. According to a recent press release from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency is planning to update the … Continue Reading
For the past few years, there has been a steady, if not increasing, stream of class action lawsuits filed against various food and beverage manufacturers and retailers alleging misbranding and false advertising due to the presence of “All Natural” claims. The companies sued in these cases range from major manufacturers and retailers to small private … Continue Reading
I don’t think we need a lot of scientific research to determine why people drink soy milk, almond milk and coconut milk. I’ll save some time and list them, not in any particular order: They are lactose-intolerant They are living a vegan lifestyle They prefer the taste to cow’s milk They prefer the nutritional profile … Continue Reading
Based on preliminary results from Tuesday’s election, it appears that Washington State’s hotly debated Initiative 522 (I-522) concerning the labeling of genetically-engineered foods has gone the way of California’s Proposition 37. Washington officials reported on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 that voters had rejected the measure, 54% to 46%. California’s similar labeling measure, Proposition 37, was … Continue Reading
The FDA’s final rule on gluten-free labeling was published in the Federal Register on August 5, 2013, with a mandatory date for compliance of one year thereafter, or August 5, 2014. But the FDA makes clear that this is an outside date. "However, as stated, FDA anticipates that manufacturers are likely to follow the requirements of the … Continue Reading
There is a concept in the law called puffery and it’s great. I cannot prove that to you that it’s great, however, because a legal concept’s greatness or lack of greatness is something entirely personal. And that is an excellent introduction to the concept. The case that brings up “puffery” is Viggiano v. Hansen Natural … Continue Reading
We’ll have plenty more about the FDA gluten-free labeling rule that came out Friday. While I’m still digesting the 95 pages of the release, I wanted to point out something in the FDA’s update that echoed what was in my last entry. In describing why the FDA chose 20 ppm as the level below which an item … Continue Reading
* But then again, I’m a lawyer. In the fifth episode of "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy", by Douglas Adams, Peter Jones played The Book. At one point, The Book gives some "helpful" information about the universe. First, that it is infinite. Next, it goes on to prove, through comical science and mathematics pulled … Continue Reading
Coauthored by Andrea Canfield and Claire Mitchell: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) charged with regulating the safety and proper labeling of meat, poultry, and egg products, recently approved the Non-GMO Project Verified label claim for meat and liquid egg products. The label, certified by the … Continue Reading
After reviewing the voter petitions filed in support of Initiative 522 (I-522), the Washington Secretary of State’s Election Division announced last Friday that the measure received enough signatures and has been certified. The official certification was signed by Secretary of State Kim Wyman. I-522, also known as “The People’s Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act,” … Continue Reading
