California-based ChangeLab Solutions, an interdisciplinary public health advocacy group focused on policy reform, is holding a September 24, 2014, Webinar to discuss the potential impact of mandatory warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages in reducing the rates of youth and adult obesity and diabetes. Webinar panelists will reportedly discuss lessons learned from failed California legislation (S.B. 1000) that would have required such warnings on SSBs, resources for driving similar strategies at the state and local level, and SSB warnings’ impact on the health of communities of color. Program faculty will include a senior staff attorney at ChangeLab Solutions, the executive directors of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, and the director of health promotion policy at Center for Science in the Public Interest. To learn more about the event, please click here. Issue 535
Posts By Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.
In its October 2014 issue, Consumer Reports will publish an analysis of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) data that supported the agency’s recommendations for fish intake by pregnant women and children, released jointly as draft guidance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2014. The magazine compiled a list of low-mercury—including haddock, trout, catfish, and crab—and lowest-mercury fish—including shrimp, tilapia, oysters, and wild and Alaska salmon—and detailed the amounts considered safe for consumption for young children and women of childbearing age. The guide includes more conservative advice than the draft guidance from FDA and EPA, such as recommending that most women and young children avoid marlin and orange roughy in addition to the listed swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and gulf tilefish. The magazine cites Deborah Rice, co-author of the EPA document that established the current limit on methylmercury consumption as 0.1 microgram per kilogram of body weight…
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund has published a white paper titled “Ending the Overuse of Antibiotics in Livestock Production: The Case for Reform.” Contending that the use of antibiotics in healthy animals to accelerate their growth or “prevent disease caused by unhealthy and unsanitary conditions” has accelerated the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the paper calls on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act immediately to restrict the use of antibiotics in livestock production. According to the consumer-interest group’s paper, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that some 2 million Americans are sickened each year by drug-resistant bacteria, and of those, 23,000 die. The paper also states that more than “70% of antibiotics in classes used in human medicine are sold for use in food animals.” FDA data reportedly indicate that in 2011, 29.9 million pounds of antibiotics were sold in the…
Shook attorneys Ann Havelka and Ryan Farnsworth have authored an August 18, 2014, Law360 article detailing “the first major overhaul of the nation’s poultry inspection system in nearly 60 years.” Describing the voluntary and mandatory aspects of the final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the article provides an overview of the regulations most likely to affect industry as the onus for inspection shifts from government agencies to business operators. FSIS officially published the final rule in the August 20, 2014, edition of the Federal Register. Additional information about the regulations appears in Issue 532 of this Update. Issue 535
Two residents of Berkeley, California, have filed a lawsuit in state court alleging that the proposed 1-cent-per-ounce soda tax, which will appear on the ballot in November, uses “politically charged” language and affects beverages beyond the targeted “high-calorie, sugary drinks.” Johnson v. Numainville, No. RG14786763 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda Cty., filed August 13, 2014). The complaint accuses the city council of failing to define the term “high calorie, sugary drink,” and suggests “sugar-sweetened beverage” instead. The plaintiffs also argue that the tax would apply to “any beverage intended for human consumption to which one or more added caloric sweeteners has been added and that contains at least 2 calories per fluid ounce,” despite that under U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines, a 12-ounce, 24 calorie drink would actually be considered low calorie. They request that the court order the city council to insert their suggested phrases for the allegedly biased…
Attorneys representing the former Peanut Corp. of America owner and employees charged with conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and other counts involving the distribution of adulterated or misbranded food that allegedly led to a deadly Salmonella outbreak, had their opportunity on August 19, 2014, to cross-examine the company’s Blakely, Georgia, plant manager, Samuel Lightsey, who has been testifying as a government witness. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-cr-12 (M.D. Ga., Albany Div., filed February 15, 2013). Among other matters, the attorneys reportedly focused on the plea deal Lightsey struck with prosecutors; he was facing more than 30 years in prison, but could serve no more than six or go free if he substantially helps prosecute others. They also sought to show that (i) former owner Stewart Parnell was concerned about safety, (ii) Lightsey was responsible for plant safety, (iii) extensive retesting of samples positive for Salmonella came…
The parties to a putative class action against Merisant Co. and Whole Earth Sweetener Co. have agreed on settlement terms, including changes to the Pure Via sweetener’s website and packaging, class certification and a $1.65- million payment to a settlement fund. Aguiar v. Merisant Co., No. 14-670 (C.D. Cal., motion filed August 18, 2014). The plaintiff had alleged that Merisant and Whole Earth label, advertise and market Pure Via products as natural, which she argued was false and deceptive. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Merisant and Whole Earth agreed to add an asterisk to Pure Via packaging with a statement that directs consumers to the product website, which will explain the process of producing Pure Via from stevia to provide consumers with “significant information to make their own determination as to whether they deem Pure Via to be ‘natural.’” In addition, Merisant and Whole Earth have agreed to…
The parties to litigation alleging that Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. white chocolate products do not contain the requisite white chocolate ingredients to be labeled and promoted as such have agreed to settle the putative nationwide class action for $5.25 million and labeling changes. Miller v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., No. 12-4936 (N.D. Cal., motion filed August 20, 2014). Additional information about the case appears in Issues 465 and 479 of this Update. The settlement would also resolve claims to be alleged in a second lawsuit by an intervening named plaintiff regarding the use of “all natural” on product labels. Under the agreement, class members who purchased the company’s Classic White Chips would be able to receive $1.50 per purchase, while those purchasing 72 other “all natural” products would receive $0.75 per purchase. The claims of those with proofs of purchase would not be capped, while claimants without proof of purchase would receive a maximum…
Prichard’s Distillery Inc., maker of Benjamin Prichard’s Double Barreled Bourbon, has filed a lawsuit against Sazerac Co. alleging that the liquor manufacturer has violated its trademark in “double barreled” by selling A. Smith Bowman Limited Edition Double Barrel Bourbon Whiskey and Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Double Barreled, a bourbon. Prichard’s Distillery Inc. v. Sazerac Co., No. 14-1646 (U.S. Dist. Ct., M.D. Tenn., filed August 11, 2014). Prichard’s claims that it has owned a trademark on the use of “double barreled” in liquor sales since 2002, and the term comes from Prichard’s distilling process, which involves aging the bourbon in one barrel, diluting it to a lower proof, then aging it in a second barrel to reinforce the flavor. The company seeks an injunction preventing Sazerac from using “double barreled” on its products as well as damages multiplied due to Sazerac’s “willful and wrongful conduct.” Issue 535
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit in North Carolina federal court against Food Lion alleging that the grocery retailer fired an employee because he was unavailable to work on Thursday evenings and Sundays, when he attended Jehovah’s Witness services as a minister and elder. EEOC v. Food Lion LLC, No. 14-708 (U.S. Dist. Ct., M.D.N.C., filed August 20, 2014). According to the complaint, a Food Lion manager hired the employee with knowledge and acceptance of his scheduling restrictions, but after the employee was assigned to a different store location, a second manager insisted on scheduling him on days that he attended religious services. When the employee chose to attend services over working his scheduled shift, he was fired. EEOC alleged that Food Lion’s employment practices violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and…
