Federal charges have been brought against two owners and two employees of Rancho Feeding Operations, a Petaluma, California-based livestock slaughterhouse, for distributing condemned and diseased cattle in violation of the Federal Meat Inspection Act. United States v. Amaral, No. 14-cr-437 (N.D. Cal., filed August 14, 2014); United States v. Singleton, No. 14-cr-441 (N.D. Cal., filed August 18, 2014). As a result of the investigation giving rise to the charges, Rancho voluntarily recalled some 8.7 million pounds of beef products in February 2014. According to the criminal indictment and information, Jesse Amaral and Robert Singleton, who owned the operation, allegedly directed Eugene Corda, Rancho’s primary yardperson, and Felix Cabrera, the facility’s foreperson, to either (i) remove “USDA Condemned” stamps from cattle carcasses and to process them for transport and distribution, or (ii) place the heads of healthy cows, swapped for diseased heads—from “cancer eye cows”—next to the carcasses of diseased animals while…
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A jury in an Iowa federal court has reportedly determined that International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. (IFF) was not liable for the lung condition a man allegedly developed from microwaving popcorn containing diacetyl, a butter flavoring ingredient used in the product. Stults v. Int’l Flavors & Fragrances Inc., No. 11-4077 (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Iowa, verdict entered August 19, 2014). The plaintiff claimed that the company had breached the implied warranty of fitness for its butter flavoring, which had a foreseeable use in microwave popcorn packages. IFF was the only remaining defendant during the seven-day trial out of some half-dozen companies originally sued for $27 million in compensatory damages. See Law360, August 20, 2014. Issue 535
A federal court in New Jersey has denied the motion to dismiss filed by MonaVie, Inc. in consumer-fraud litigation involving its juice products, finding that the first amended putative class-action complaint was sufficiently pleaded. Pontrelli v. MonaVie, Inc., No. 13-4649 (D.N.J., decided August 19, 2014). Attached to the complaint was a MonaVie brochure that included a number of claims about the curative health benefits of the açai berry, as well as purported customer testimonials. The plaintiff claimed that she relied on such representations, did not receive the advertised benefits and would not have purchased the products if she had known that the representations were false. The complaint also alleged that consumers are willing to pay an inflated price for the products—$40 for a 25-ounce bottle—based on the advertised health benefits. The plaintiff also alleged that the company knows its claims are false and that the juice products will not cure any…
Russia has relaxed its food ban against the European Union by clarifying that it will allow imports of salmon and trout hatchlings, potato and onion seed, sugar maize hybrid and peas for planting, lactose-free milk, flavor additives, and food fibers. The move follows criticism from within the country on the effects the import prohibitions would have on Russians, and according to the Moscow Times, it will also ease the bans’ burden on neighboring Finland. To soften the effects on the markets for fruits and vegetables for the rest of Europe, the European Union has set aside €125 million to compensate producers for keeping several of their perishable products off the market to avoid a price collapse. Further information on Russia’s food bans appears in Issue 533 of this Update. See CNN, August 18, 2014, and Moscow Times, August 21, 2014. Within Russia, consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor has introduced fines—between 20,000 and…
The People’s Republic of China Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly failed to renew the biosafety permits for two research programs growing genetically modified (GM) corn and rice, raising concerns about the future of GMO production in China. According to media sources, the Agriculture Ministry has not yet authorized any GMOs for public consumption and decided to discontinue further research after a state TV report allegedly identified illegal GM rice varieties in markets located near Huazhong Agricultural University, which was developing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice. Although Greenpeace representatives and other stakeholders apparently cited public opinion as the motivation behind the announcement, Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy Director Huang Jikun suggested that the self-sufficiency of the domestic rice market has made the commercialization of Bt rice unnecessary. In addition, critics of the ministry’s decision have questioned whether the debate over GMO safety has taken a political bent. As…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service is convening a September 25, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Brisbane, Australia, on October 13-17. Issues on the September 25 meeting agenda include (i) a discussion paper on Principles and Guidelines for Monitoring Regulatory Performance of National Food Control Systems and (ii) draft amendments to Guidelines for the Exchange of Information between Countries on Rejections of Imported Food. USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have a public meeting slated for October 23 in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene in Lima, Peru, on November…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service has requested comments “on how a Federal standard of identity for honey would be in the interest of consumers, the honey industry, and U.S. agriculture.” Noting that the Food and Drug Administration in 2011 rejected an industry-backed citizens petition seeking such a standard, USDA as charged by the 2014 Farm Bill will produce a report examining the issue, “including any current industry amendments or clarifications necessary to update the petition.” In particular, USDA points to the existence of several standards for the inspection and grading of honey, including state-level schemes designed to prevent product adulteration. “While some are following the 2006 honey industry petition and using an amended version of the Codex Standard for Honey, CODEX standard 12-1981, Rev. 2 (2001), variations in the state standards of identity for honey are inevitable,” concludes the agency, which will accept comments until September…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a consumer update warning that the lupin (or lupine) legume could cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals, especially those with existing peanut allergies. According to FDA, the use of lupin-derived ingredients has increased in recent years because they are used in gluten-free products as a substitute for other flours. “Although lupin is a food staple for many Europeans—who may be more aware of its allergenic properties and are accustomed to seeing it listed as a food ingredient—it is relatively new to the U.S. market,” notes FDA, which “is actively monitoring complaints of lupin allergies.” To this end, the agency has asked consumers and healthcare professionals to report lupin-related adverse events through the FDA reporting system. See FDA Consumer Update, August 15, 2014. Issue 535
Three studies recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) have answered the Institute of Medicine’s call for additional data on the effects of salt consumption on human health, raising questions about the relationships between sodium intake, blood pressure, cardiovascular events, and mortality. Relying on the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) cohort study that followed more than 150,000 adult participants from a selection of low-, middle- and high-income countries, two of the articles used urinary sodium and potassium excretion measurements to estimate dietary sodium consumption. One study reported that, despite previous research linking sodium intake to hypertension, the association between sodium and potassium excretion and blood pressure was “non-linear and most pronounced in persons consuming high salt diets, persons with hypertension, and older persons.” Andrew Mente, et al., “Association of Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion with Blood Pressure,” NEJM, August 2014. Looking at mortality and cardiovascular events, the second…
National Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail has traced the history of sugar from its roots as a luxury to its current incarnation as a “forbidden fruit, the momentary pleasure infused with a lifetime of guilt.” Author John Allemang argues that the human taste for sweetness is natural and that “when we denounce sugar, we are defying our nature.” He describes sugar’s history, from its inclusion in recipe collections dating to about 1300 that extolled its ability to relieve illness to its use in creating plates and sculptures as a model of early conspicuous consumption. From there, it took on negative overtones through its association with slavery, colonialism and environmental degradation; later, sugar consumption became a moral failing. “[Early nutritionists] understood it to be seductive,” Elizabeth Abbott, author of Sugar: A Bittersweet History, told Allemang. “This prompted moral outrage: When you ate it, you kept wanting to have more.” The Industrial…
