Our distinguished alumnus, founder and former fearless leader, Ken Odza, has sent out an invitation to a FREE ABA Roundtable this coming Thursday, December 12. The topic is criminal prosecutions of food companies and their officers. Contemplaying how one might become the subject of a prosecution may not exactly something that will fill you with comfort and joy this … Continue Reading
When Ken called me to tell me he was taking his new job at Kellogg’s, I immediately thought of this cartoon. Growing up outside Detroit, a highlight of every summer was a trip to Battle Creek, where they let you tour the factory, and at the end would give you samples of the latest Kellogg’s … Continue Reading
Next Wednesday at the ACI Food Regulatory Summit in Chicago I’ll be presenting a talk entitled "Curtailing Downstream Liability Arising Out of On-Site Inspections: How to Prepare and What to Do Should Government Come Knocking." My slide-deck can be linked here. Topics that I plan to cover include: FDA’s plan to increase frequency of inspections … Continue Reading
Thank you to Parker Smith & Feek for inviting me to speak to about FSMA and how it’s changing the status quo. My slide-deck can be viewed here. Following my talk, Marty Bask from Parker Smith & Feek led a very interesting discussion about the pros and cons of product recall and contamination coverage. A link … Continue Reading
I’ll be speaking at several events over the next two months on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and how this comprehensive and far reaching legislation affects the status quo for food companies. Two of these events are free, and all promise to address relevant and critical issues for those involved in the food industry. a. May … Continue Reading
If you’re in the Seattle area March 22, please join me at Parker, Smith & Feek’s offices in Bellevue for a discussion of the new Food Safety Modernization Act, the Reportable Food Registry, and how to survive a food product recall. Here is the full announcement of the event, including a link to registration (no … Continue Reading
Yesterday (while taking a break from the Sustainable Food Summit in San Francisco), I traveled to Modesto, California to speak to the Manufacturer’s Council of the Central Valley. I spoke about the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The focus of my talk was how the FSMA changes the status quo for food businesses. And … Continue Reading
We’re nearly down to the wire on whether the 111th Congress will send S.510, the food safety bill, to the President for signature into law. I’m told it could happen by the weekend. No matter what happens in Congress, food law is changing and changing faster than it ever has. The ABA Food Supplements Subcommittee and Products … Continue Reading
I’ve been invited to speak this Friday at the University of Oregon School of Law‘s symposium entitled "Cultivating Our Future: New Landscapes in Food and Agricultural Law and Policy" as a part of the "Food for Thought – Strategies for Advocacy" panel. I’ll outline a series of tools food lawyers can and should use to … Continue Reading
Thursday, February 17, 2011 – Hosted by The Coca-Cola Company. Please save the date for this first annual one-day CLE workshop sponsored by ABA’s Food and Supplements subcommittee that will include panels on the impact of federal statutory and regulatory reform on the food industry, state consumer laws and consumer class actions related to food … Continue Reading
American Conference Institute (“ACI”) will hold its 4th National Conference on Food-Borne Illness Claims in Chicago, October 27 to 28. Highlights of this year’s conference will include: • Appearances by a number of current and former high-level regulators such as Dr. Arthur Liang from CDC, Dr. David Goldman from USDA, Dr. David Acheson formerly of … Continue Reading
This is the title of a presentation I’ll be giving at the American Cheese Society’s (ACS) annual meeting in Seattle. I’ll be speaking along with Marc Baker and Jill Perucca from the Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker insurance agency at 3:30 p.m. on August 27. The slide deck I intend to use can be found … Continue Reading
By Guest Blogger Stephanie Meier Stoel Rives’ Food, Beverage and Hospitality Group have launched a new blog focused on the alcoholic beverage industry. The Alcoholic Beverages Law Blog provides wineries, breweries, distilleries, cideries, distributors and importers with articles and information across a broad spectrum of state and federal alcohol beverage law. The authors work on … Continue Reading
Register now for the Friday, June 18 Food Alliance event at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle with Dr. Temple Grandin. This is a unique opportunity to meet Dr. Grandin and leaders in sustainable food and animal welfare. The event benefits Food Alliance, where I serve on the board. It’s the first Food Alliance event in … Continue Reading
In just a couple of weeks (Feb. 23-25), I’ll be in Austin for the GMA Food Claims & Litigation Conference. Let me know if you plan to attend. I’ll be presenting with Scott Rickman from Del Monte Foods on consumer fraud class claims arising from food product labeling and marketing. Anyone in the business of … Continue Reading
On November 17, we held our final webinar in a three-part series on bringing sustainable food products to market. Take-aways from the third webinar include: • Be aware that "natural" is a hot button when advertising and labeling sustainable food products. • "Sustainable" is not addressed in FTC Green Guides so it is imperative to … Continue Reading
Please join me, Steve Marinkovich from Propel Insurance, my colleague at Stoel Rives, Anne Glazer, and Peter Truitt, CEO of Truitt Bros., Inc. tomorrow, November 17, at 9 am PST, noon EST, (live Twitter feed at #sustainlaw) for the last webinar in our 3-part series on Bringing Sustainable Food Products To Market. Register here. We will discuss (and … Continue Reading
Tuesday, November 3, we held our second webinar in a three-part series on bringing sustainable food products to market. Thanks again to our presenters and attendees. The recorded webcast was archived and is accessible at this link. Click here to access a PDF copy of the presentation slides. Take-aways from the second webinar include: • … Continue Reading
If you haven’t already, register here for the second in a three-part webinar series on environmentally friendly sustainable food products, to be held at 9 am PT, Tuesday, November 3. This installment of the series will focus on sustainability standards, third-party certification and avoidance of “green-washing.” The webinar will feature: FDA regulatory lawyer Ricardo Carvajal from … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives is proud to sponsor an upcoming webinar series on legal and business aspects of bringing sustainable food products to market. Industry representatives will talk among other things about what sustainable food products are, help dispel the fears of traditional food companies, discuss strategies for minimizing business and litigation risks, and underscore the importance of sustainable foods … Continue Reading
Off to Minneapolis this week for a lecture at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Food Science. I’ll be talking to professor Francisco Diez’s Food: Safety, Risks and Technology class. My lecture is titled “Consumers vs. Food Companies: Intersection of the Court System and Food Science.” I plan a wide-ranging talk that touches on: The relationship … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced the 2010 Food Safety Education Conference. The conference will be held in Atlanta from March 23 through 26, 2010. Although the agenda is still a work in progress, you can expect sessions on foodborne illnesses, outreach to the medical community, food safety education initiatives, social … Continue Reading
The American Conference Institute announced this week its latest food litigation conference. Here’s the conference brochure. The conference will take place in Chicago on October 26-27 at the Sutton Place Hotel. Plaintiffs’ lawyer Bill Marler and defense lawyer Al Maxwell are co-chairing the conference. This year promises a greater variety of presentations by in-house food … Continue Reading
Dr. Margaret Hamburg, President Barack Obama’s nominee to oversee the Food and Drug Administration, is appearing before a U.S. Senate committee this afternoon regarding her nomination. The confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began at 2:00 p.m. ET. Streaming video is available here. The Associated Press is reporting that, if confirmed, one … Continue Reading
