Kind Litigation on Hold as FDA Decides “Natural” Definition

A New York federal court has stayed a proposed class action alleging
Kind LLC misleads consumers by describing its products as “all natural”
and free of genetically modified organisms. In re Kind, No. 15-2645
(S.D.N.Y., order entered September 15, 2016). The court noted that the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested comments on the
use of the term “natural” in food labeling in November 2015 and closed
the comment period in May 2016, suggesting that FDA is “prepared to
address the core issues in this case.”

The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims that Kind’s use of
“healthy” on its labels was misleading following FDA’s determination that
it would permit Kind to use the term as the agency considers redefining
it. Details on that determination appear in Issue 604 of this Update.

Issue 618