The Chronicle of Higher Education recently profiled Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and his decades-long advocacy of soft drink taxes, an idea that once attracted derision but today “doesn’t seem so radical.” The Chronicle notes “growing evidence of a link between price and consumption,” citing recent reports that appear to lend credence to Brownell’s crusade. Despite opposition from free market economists, the beverage industry and groups like the Center for Consumer Freedom, the proposal has purportedly gained traction in legislative circles, rippling outwards from cities and states to the upper echelons of federal government. Counted among these supporters is Thomas Frieden, who once co-authored a paper with Brownell and now directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Moreover, according to The Chronicle, “[t]he professor is aware that the renewed interest in his idea is, at least in part, prompted by the budget…
Category Archives Issue 345
The Independent has reported on an escalating dispute in the scientific community over the safety of bisphenol A (BPA), tracing the brouhaha to a three-year study commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that found no evidence of BPA adversely affecting laboratory rats exposed to high doses of the ubiquitous plasticizer. In an April 13, 2010, article, science editor Steve Connor observes that Toxicological Sciences, which published the original work online in 2009, has become the battleground of choice for scientists arguing the merits of the research. Additional details about the EPA study appear in issue 327 of this Update. According to The Independent, University of Missouri-Columbia Professor Frederick vom Saal first attacked the results in a letter to the journal, claiming that EPA researchers “violated U.S. National Toxicology Program recommendations” by failing to establish “the sensitivity of the animal model to the class of chemical being tested.” This allegation,…
A Nebraska-based manufacturer has voluntarily recalled a canine joint formula due to possible Salmonella contamination linked to hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP). According to the April 13, 2010, notice, Response Products has recalled a meat-flavored supplement for dogs because it contained components supplied by Basic Food Flavors, Inc., the company at the center of a nationwide HVP recall. Cetyl M™ for Dogs was “distributed in either a 120-count bottle (shipped between January 8, 2010 and April 2, 2010) or a 360-count bottle (shipped between February 11, 2010 and April 2, 2010).” While no lots have tested positive for Salmonella and no human or animal illnesses associated with use of the supplement, Response Products has warned that “People who handle dry pet food and/or treats can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the chews or any surfaces exposed to these products.”
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has announced an April 21, 2010, briefing to release the findings of its Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake Committee, which investigated various means “that could be employed to reduce dietary sodium intake to levels recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” To be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the 10 a.m. briefing will also include a live audio webcast. The IOM committee includes experts associated with the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Georgetown University School of Medicine; Kraft Foods; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Mathematic Policy Research, Inc.; Monell Chemical Senses Center; National Institutes of Health; New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Oklahoma State University; University of California, Hastings College of Law; University of Cincinnati; and RTI International. Its forthcoming report “may address a range of focal points including but not limited…
After less than two hours of deliberation, an Arkansas jury has reportedly awarded 12 rice farmers nearly $48 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the 2006 contamination of conventional rice stocks with a genetically modified (GM) strain. The farmers alleged that Europe and Japan stopped importing U.S. rice after the contamination became known, causing a precipitous drop in the price for their crops. Most of the award against Bayer CropScience was punitive; litigation against the company is pending in a number of other states. This jury verdict, reached on April 15, 2010, tops a $1 million award rendered against the company by another Alabama jury in March. Information about that verdict can be found in issue 341 of this Update. See Associated Press, April 15, 2010.
More than 200 relatives of Colombians allegedly killed or “disappeared” by members of an organization designated by the United States as a “Global Terrorist” in 2001 have filed a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) against Chiquita Brands International, Inc., alleging that the company’s illegal financial support of the organization was responsible for their injuries. Montes v. Chiquita Brands Int’l, Inc., No. 10-60573 (S.D. Fla., filed April 14, 2010). Represented by Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, the plaintiffs bring the same types of claims that have been raised in other ATCA lawsuits filed against the company, which pleaded guilty to making the illegal payments to purportedly protect its banana plantation operations. Additional information about these cases can be found in issue 342 of this Update. The plaintiffs here, identified by name, seek compensatory and punitive damages.
A putative class action has been filed against individual plant managers and human resources personnel responsible for hiring employees at 16 Perdue Farms, Inc. facilities in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in the hiring of illegal immigrants. Walters v. McMahen, No. 10-257 (M.D. Ala., filed March 22, 2010). The named plaintiffs seek to represent a class of legally employed workers whose wages were allegedly depressed because of the illegal scheme to hire at “extremely low wages” hundreds of employees who were in this country illegally. The plaintiffs also seek treble damages, preliminary and permanent injunctions, attorney’s fees, and costs. Among other matters, the plaintiffs allege that the illegal hiring scheme consisted of (i) “hiring workers who have previously been employed at Perdue under different identities”; (ii) hiring workers known to be using false identity documents; (iii) “hiring workers who cannot speak…
A group of insurance companies has sued another group of insurers, seeking a declaration that the defendants are also required to indemnify and defend flavoring companies that have been named as defendants in lawsuits by former microwave popcorn- and candy-plant employees alleging injuries from exposure to diacetyl. Arrowood Indem. Co. v. Atl. Mut. Ins. Co., No. 10600881 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. County, filed April 7, 2010). While the plaintiffs anticipate that additional diacetyl exposure lawsuits will be filed, they allege that they have been defending, subject to a reservation of rights, seven cases already filed in Illinois, Missouri, Montana, and Ohio. The plaintiffs contend that the defendants have either wrongfully denied any coverage obligations or refused to respond to requests for contribution to the litigation defense or indemnity costs. Seeking declaratory relief, the plaintiffs also ask for damages, attorney’s fees, interest, and costs.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse employees in Alabama adequately alleged that their employers “encouraged or induced an alien to reside in the United States, and either knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that alien’s residence here was illegal,” thus stating the predicate act needed to bring a claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Edwards v. Prime, Inc., No. 09-11699 (11th Cir., decided April 9, 2010). So ruling, the court reinstated the plaintiffs’ RICO claim against the parent company; its Birmingham, Alabama, franchisee; and the franchise owner and operator. The court did not reverse trial court rulings dismissing wage-related claims and claims of discrimination or retaliation. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants knowingly hired and employed illegal aliens, allowing them to work under the names of former Ruth’s Chris employees who were U.S. citizens and providing them with the former…
A federal court in Kansas has dismissed a putative class action filed against Applebee’s International, Inc. and Weight Watchers International, Inc., finding that the claims raised under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) were not sufficiently alleged. Shepard v. Applebee’s Int’l, Inc., No. 08-2416 (D. Kan., decided April 7, 2010). Details about the litigation, filed by a different named plaintiff, appear in issue 274 of this Update. The complaint alleged that the companies misrepresent the fat and calorie information in the dishes on the restaurateur’s “healthy” Weight Watchers® menu. The court had previously dismissed the plaintiffs’ state law claims as preempted by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, and sustained in part a motion to dismiss their RICO claims. Thereafter, defendants filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings as to the remaining RICO claim, arguing that the plaintiffs failed to allege “racketeering activity” because they did not…
