Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has announced its Spring 2011 Seminar Series featuring the interdisciplinary work of public policy and health advocates, as well as legal and industry insights. Speakers for the series include (i) Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids President Matthew Myers (Advocacy Lessons from the Battle to Reduce Tobacco); (ii) Cornell Food and Brand Lab Director Brian Wansink (Mindless Eating Solutions); (iii) San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar (Creating Access to Healthier Meal Options); (iv) Legacy CEO Cheryl Healton (Lessons Learned from the Tobacco Wars); (v) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Stephen Teret (Innovative Legal Strategies for Food Policy); and (vi) National Restaurant Association CEO Dawn Sweeney (Today’s Restaurant Industry: Empowering Consumers with Healthy Choices and Nutrition Information). Hosted at the Rudd Center in New Haven, Connecticut, these seminars are open to the public and run from January 19 through April 20.
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The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has reportedly voted to amend its policy on the expiration of genetically modified (GM) crop patents, calling on industry to develop “a protocol for biotech crops before coming off patent.” With patents set to expire for more than 24 GM varieties in coming years, the 6-million member farmers’ coalition has evidently asked industry to craft a plan aimed at avoiding shortages or trade disruptions. AFBF delegates at an Atlanta, Georgia, meeting apparently discussed grower and seed group concerns about whether generic seed versions will be available and accepted by other nations. “There just needs to be a way to deal with it,” said AFBF Director of International Policy Rosemarie Watkins. See Reuters, January 13, 2011.
The American Heart Association (AHA) is urging the food industry, health professionals, government, and the public to “intensify efforts to reduce the amount of sodium (salt) Americans consume.” Published as a presidential advisory in an upcoming issue of its journal Circulation, AHA says its science-based recommendations advocate no more than 1,500 mg of sodium daily for the general public. The group claims that current sodium intake is more than two times higher, with 77 percent coming from packaged, processed and restaurant foods. “Even a modest decline in intake—say 400 mg per day—would produce benefits that are substantial and warrant implementation,” according to the advisory, which warns that increased sodium consumption can lead to high blood pressure and heart, kidney and blood vessel problems. With its 2020 impact goal aimed at reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent, the advisory stressed that “the potential health benefits of sodium…
A coalition of pesticide watchdogs and farm workers has filed a petition in a California state court seeking review of a Department of Pesticide Registration (DPR) decision to allow the use of pesticides containing methyl iodide despite evidence that the chemical is highly toxic. Pesticide Action Network N. Am. v. Cal. Dep’t of Pesticide Regulation, No. RG10553804 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda Cty., filed December 30, 2010). The chemical is allegedly used in fumigants intended to sterilize soil before planting crops such as strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, fruit and nut trees, grape vines, and ornamentals. The petitioners claim that breathing the chemical causes nausea, slurred speech and vomiting, permanent damage to the lungs, liver, kidneys and central nervous system, as well as fetal miscarriage. They also claim that direct contact with skin causes burns and that the chemical is listed as a known carcinogen under Proposition 65. The petition contends that exposure…
A coalition of food wholesalers and retailers has filed an antitrust lawsuit in a Kansas state court against egg producers and industry trade groups alleging that, by reducing the number of hens, increasing egg exports and decreasing hen lifecycles, the defendants conspired to manipulate egg prices, which have more than doubled in recent years. Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. v. United Egg Producers, No. 10 2181 (Kan. Dist. Ct., Wyandotte Cty., filed December 23, 2010). Similar class-action lawsuits nationwide were consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings in a Pennsylvania federal court; the Kansas plaintiffs apparently opted out of class to file their own claims. The petition, alleging violations of the Kansas Restraint of Trade Act, discusses the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into industry practices and relies on some documents produced during the MDL proceedings. Several settlements have apparently been reached in the MDL, and one of the defendants apparently agreed to…
According to a press report, an amended putative class complaint has been filed in a Florida federal court against two companies that make and sell apple juice for children’s consumption, alleging that by failing to warn about the presence of lead in the juice the companies have violated state deceptive and unfair trade practices law. Poulis v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 10-81475 (S.D. Fla., amended complaint filed January 11, 2011). The complaint was originally filed in state court soon after a California nonprofit organization notified the companies in June 2010 that their products contained lead in excess of levels established as safe under that state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). It was removed to federal court in November. The plaintiffs have not apparently alleged personal injury from the exposure, but claim they would not have purchased the companies’ products if they had known about…
Setton International Foods, which recalled more than 15 million pounds of pistachios in 2009 when Salmonella was detected in a delivery to one of its customers, has reportedly entered a settlement agreement with its insurers in a dispute over coverage for third-party claims. While the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, a federal court in California has apparently dismissed the claims Setton filed against five insurance companies. According to a news source, Setton claimed that its insurers failed to provide assistance in defending or negotiating the third-party claims, and this purportedly led to the company’s exposure to increased liability. See Product Liability Law 360, January 7, 2011.
A New Jersey appellate court has dismissed the second amended complaint in a putative class action filed by a man who claims that Denny’s meals contain excessive undisclosed levels of sodium in violation of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act. DeBenedetto v. Denny’s, Inc., No. A-4135-09T1 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., decided January 11, 2011). The plaintiff was represented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additional information about the litigation appears in Issue 312 of this Update. The court agreed with the trial judge that the plaintiff’s complaint was, in essence, a product liability claim for failure to warn for which the state’s product liability law provided “a sole and exclusive remedy.” In the absence of proof of injury, the courts determined that the plaintiff failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted. The appellate court disagreed with the plaintiff that recent state supreme court…
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the certiorari petition filed by Kraft Foods, seeking review of a Seventh Circuit ruling that requires the company to pay for the time it takes workers to change into and out of safety gear and work clothes, despite a collective bargaining agreement to the contrary. Kraft Foods Global, Inc. v. Spoerle, No. 10-580 (U.S., cert. denied January 10, 2011). According to the Seventh Circuit, “Management and labor acting jointly have no more power to override state substantive law than they have when acting individually.” The U.S. Supreme Court’s denial carries no precedential weight; thus, the ruling, based on Wisconsin law, is limited to the Seventh Circuit. Kraft will apparently begin paying 1,300 current and former employees about $4 million in back pay. A company spokesperson reportedly said, “With this decision [the doffing-and-donning] benefit is restored to employees. We are happy to put this behind…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) Nanotechnologies and Food Discussion Group has held its first meeting to consider advancing recommendations from a House of Lords Committee on Science and Technology 2010 report. Fifteen stakeholders from consumer organizations, academia, industry, and government departments met on January 13, 2011, to “exchange information between different sectors within the nanotechnologies and food groups,” according to FSA. Established to address concerns that the U.K.’s food and packaging sectors were too secretive about nanotechnology, the group reportedly plans to meet three or four times annually with a review after 18 months. Issues to be discussed include (i) European Union regulations and definitions, (ii) guidance for assessing nanomaterials, (iii) intelligence gathering on nanotechnology research conducted by the food industry, and (iv) a proposal to create a U.K. register of “nanofoods” on the market. See FSA Press Release, January 12, 2011; FoodProductionDaily.com, January 13, 2011.
