Magistrate Recommends Hold on “100% Natural” Suit Against General Mills

A federal magistrate has recommended that General Mills’ motion to dismiss
a putative consumer fraud class action be denied without prejudice and that,
under the primary jurisdiction doctrine, the suit be stayed “pending action
by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] with respect to the referral made
by Judge Rogers in Cox v. Gruma. Van Atta v. General Mills, Inc., No. 12-2815
(D. Colo., recommendation entered July 18, 2013). At issue is the
company’s claim that its granola bars are “100% Natural” when they allegedly
contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Finding that the food-labeling issue falls within FDA’s regulatory authority
and that the agency “has not issued a rule which requires products containing
GMOs to be labeled as such, nor has the FDA issued a rule regarding
whether products labeled ‘natural’ may contain GMOs,” the magistrate found
invocation of the primary jurisdiction doctrine appropriate. In this regard,
the magistrate stated, “The issues of fact in this matter are not within the
conventional experience of judges, they require the exercise of administrative
discretion, and they require uniformity and consistency in the regulation of
the business entrusted to the particular agency.” The parties had 14 days to
file written objections and an additional 14 days to respond to another party’s
objections.