The owners of a Yuma, Arizona-based dairy have filed a petition for review before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking a hearing on their challenge to the Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005, which apparently requires independent producer-handlers to join a dairy cooperative or pay federal marketing fees. Hettinga v. United States, No. 12-506 (U.S., petition for writ of certiorari filed October 19, 2012). According to the Hettingas, one of the few remaining independents in the United States, lawmakers singled out their dairy when enacting a law that has forced them to sell milk at a higher price than they want to charge. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the district court that the law did not constitute a bill of attainder nor did it violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. Hettinga v. United States, No. 11-5065 (D.C. Cir., decided April 13, 2012).
Tag Archives dairy
A federal court in Wisconsin has reportedly approved a consent decree between the U.S. government a Wisconsin livestock operation that allegedly violated federal drug laws by failing to maintain adequate animal treatment records, using new animal drugs illegally and failing to adequately distinguish between medicated and non-medicated animals for sale for use as human food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially warned the owner of Nolan Livestock in 2004 that a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection revealed the presence of an illegal antibiotic in the edible tissues of its dairy cows. Under the consent decree, the owner must cease operations and then resume only when it has documented to FDA’s satisfaction that it has corrected the problems observed and has instituted appropriate procedures to prevent a recurrence. See U.S. Department of Justice News Release, June 26, 2012; FDA News Release, July 10, 2012.
New York and New Jersey residents have filed a putative class action in an Illinois federal court against the company that makes a line of kefir dairy products, alleging that they are falsely promoted as providing “clinically proven therapeutic benefits for various health conditions.” Keatley v. Lifeway Foods, Inc., No. 12-3521 (N.D. Ill., filed May 8, 2012). According to the complaint, Lifeway claims, without adequate proof, that its kefir products containing ProBoost, “an exclusive blend of live and active probiotic cultures,” can support immunity, enhance digestion, boost well-being, alleviate diarrhea, and otherwise address autoimmune disorders, bad breath, celiac disease, Crohn’s and colitis, high cholesterol, immune deficiency, infantile colic, irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, seasonal allergies, and yeast infections. The plaintiffs contend that they would not have purchased the products if they had known that ProBoost products “did not have the quality, health benefits or value as promised.” Seeking to certify a…
Seeking to certify a class of all consumers who purchased Lucerne® brand Greek yogurt from any of its parent Safeway grocery stores, a California resident has filed a complaint in state court alleging that the product is mislabeled because it is not thickened through straining but rather by the addition of milk protein concentrate (MPC). Tamas v. Safeway, Inc., No. RIC 1206341 (Cal. Super. Ct., Riverside Cty., filed April 27, 2012). According to the complaint, MPC “is essentially a blend of dry dairy ingredients,” often imported and used to increase protein ratios in dairy products; it is allegedly not among “generally recognized as safe” food additives listed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Thus,” the plaintiff claims, “using MPC in any human food constitutes adulteration.” The plaintiff also alleges that the product does not meet FDA’s standard of identity for yogurt products. The plaintiff contends that she would not…
A federal court in Tennessee has dismissed the two remaining claims in antitrust litigation filed by certain retail processed milk sellers against Dean Foods Co. and the Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. In re: Se. Milk Antitrust Litig., No. 08-1000 (E.D. Tenn., decided March 27, 2012) (ruling applies to Food Lion, LLC v. Dean Foods Co., No. 07-188). At issue were claims for violation of sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act (agreement not to compete and conspiracy to monopolize). The court found that the plaintiffs’ expert failed to “create a material issue of fact on the question of whether the price increases were ‘by reason of’ an illegal conspiracy in violation of the antitrust laws and Plaintiffs do not allege an injury of the kind which the antitrust laws are designed to prevent.” Because the plaintiffs were unable to establish antitrust injury, the court determined that the defendants…
Polish officials have reportedly withdrawn from commerce more than 500,000 pounds of food possibly contaminated with industrial salt intended for de-icing roads in winter conditions. According to media sources, Poland’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested five individuals accused of selling road salt to food processors for use in dairy, fish, meat, and baked goods. The Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS) has since identified the non-iodized salt, which contains “minimal” levels of dioxin and heavy metals, at 48 different locations, but has reportedly emphasized the overall low risk to human health. “It can be concluded with a very high probability that the amounts of these compounds per 100 g of the food products do not pose a health hazard,” one GIS investigator was quoted as saying. See Polskie Radio, February 27 and March 7, 2012; Warsaw Business Journal, March 5, 2012; EurActiv.com, March 7, 2012. Despite this finding and the precautionary…
Switzerland-based Nestlé S.A. has announced plans to fund a dairy farming institute in Shuangcheng, China, to help the region’s suppliers expand their businesses and source “high quality milk sustainably.” According to a January 11, 2012, press release, the new institute “aims to be the country’s leading dairy training center, offering teaching courses from national and international experts.” The company and city of Shuangcheng are reportedly investing 2.5 billion Chinese yuan in the project, which will also guarantee bank loans for purchasing additional cattle and increase the “training and technical assistance already provided to local farmers.” As further noted in a January 13, 2012, Wall Street Journal article, Nestlé evidently “hopes to increase its market share in China’s dairy industry” and believes larger farms will help “boost production and efficiency while projecting a reputation for safety.” Other foreign companies such as Fonterra Co-Operative Group Ltd. have likewise indicated interest in more consolidated…
Putative class actions have been filed in New Jersey and California federal courts against Tropicana Products, Inc., alleging that the company misleads consumers by labeling and marketing its orange juice as “100% pure and natural,” when it actually “undergoes extensive processing which includes the addition of aromas and flavors.” Lynch v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., No. 11-07382 (D.N.J., filed December 19, 2011); Lewis v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., No. 12-00049 (E.D. Cal., filed January 6, 2012). Both plaintiffs seek to certify nationwide classes. The New Jersey plaintiff alleges unjust enrichment, breach of express warranty, violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, and injunctive and declaratory relief. He requests compensatory, treble and punitive damages; prejudgment interest; restitution; injunctive relief; attorney’s fees; and expenses and costs of suit. The California plaintiff, who also seeks to certify a subclass of California consumers, alleges unjust enrichment; breach of express warranty; violation of the state Consumers…
According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), Ohio has decided not to pursue regulations that would prohibit dairy producers from including on their labels statements that organic dairy products are made without antibiotics, pesticides or synthetic hormones. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals determined in September 2010 that those parts of the rule involving hormone-free statements violated the First Amendment and remanded the action to the federal district court for further development of the record as to the rule’s ban on composition claims related to antibiotics and pesticides. More details about the court’s ruling appear in Issue 366 of this Update. The trade group stated, “Ohio has now agreed to abandon the rule rather than trying to revive it, recognizing that the First Amendment allows organic dairy products to proudly state that they are produced in accordance with organic standards without the use of synthetic growth hormones, pesticides, or antibiotics.”…
According to a news source, two antitrust lawsuits were filed in a California federal court this week alleging that dairy trade groups and coops manipulated dairy prices between 2003 and 2010 under a program that slaughtered more than 500,000 cows. The suits reportedly allege that the National Milk Producers Federation and major dairy farmer cooperatives, under a “dairy herd retirement program,” cost consumers in excess of $9.5 billion. Plaintiff’s counsel Steve Berman released a statement claiming that the lawsuits, brought on behalf of individual consumers in California, New York and Wisconsin, as well as Compassion Over Killing, “will protect consumers from artificially inflated milk prices and also will prevent the unnecessary and shameful killing of tens of thousands of cows each year.” One of the lawsuits, Edwards v. National Milk Producers Federation, seeks to certify 27 state classes and a District of Columbia class, alleging violation of state antitrust and…
