A recent study based on a 27,670 cohort enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation in Cancer and Nutrition has allegedly concluded that participants who limited their intake of meat and animal products reduced their risk for developing cataracts by as much as 40 percent. Paul Appleby, et al., “Diet, vegetarianism, and cataract risk,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, published online March 23, 2011. Dividing subjects into groups ranging from those with the highest meat consumption to those who avoided meat and animal products altogether, researchers evidently found “a strong relation between cataract risk and diet group, with a progressive decrease in risk of cataract in high meat eaters to low meat eaters, fish eaters (participants who ate fish but not meat), vegetarians, and vegans.” The results reportedly indicated that, compared with those who ate the most meat, vegetarians reduced their cataract risk by 30 percent and vegans by 40 percent.
Category Archives Issue 388
A recent study led by the Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute reportedly concluded that both bisphenol A (BPA) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposures “were substantially reduced when participants’ diets were restricted to food with limited packaging.” Ruthann Rudel, et al., “Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention,” Environmental Health Perspectives, March 30, 2011. Researchers selected “20 participants in five families based on self-reported use of canned and packaged foods,” and then directed these subjects to eat “their usual diet, followed by three days of ‘fresh foods’ not canned or packaged in plastic,” before returning to their customary habits. The results of urinary samples taken over the eight-day experiment reportedly demonstrated a significant decrease in BPA and DEHP metabolites during the fresh foods intervention. According to the Silent Spring Institute, these findings allegedly “show that food packaging is the major source of…
Czech and U.S. brewers seeking to market their beers under the name “Bud,” have apparently been at odds since the early 1900s. In the latest installment of the dispute, the Court of Justice of the European Communities has set aside a decision of the Court of First Instance which allowed the Czech brewer to oppose Anheuser-Busch’s registration of “Bud” in Europe. Anheuser-Busch Inc. v. Budějovický Budvar, No. C 96-09 (E.C.J., decided March 29, 2011). While the Court of Justice upheld some of the lower court’s rulings, it determined that the lower court erred (i) in the factors it relied on to decide if a “sign,” or trademark, in opposition to a new registration was used in a sufficiently significant manner, and (ii) in holding that the use of the sign in opposition does not necessarily have to occur before the date of the application for new registration. According to the Court…
A company that sells a variety of seafood spreads has sued one of its packers, which allegedly added undeclared eggs to the company’s smoked salmon spread. Sau-Sea Foods, Inc. v. Lukas Foods, Inc., No. 11-00104 (D. Me., filed March 23, 2011). The plaintiff apparently learned about the problem after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the defendant’s facility and discovered that eggs had been used in the spread, thus “posing a potential health hazard.” A recall was immediately undertaken and widely reported in the media. Thereafter, FDA allegedly informed the plaintiff that its salmon spread “posed an acute, life-threatening hazard to health” and designated the recall as Class I. Alleging breach of contract, breach of express and implied warranties, negligence, unjust enrichment, breach of implied contract, and negligent misrepresentation, Sau-Sea Foods seeks damages, interest, costs, and attorney’s fees. While the company alleges damages exceeding the $75,000 jurisdictional minimum, it…
Flying Dog Brewery has filed a lawsuit under the First Amendment, alleging that the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and its individual members violated its free speech rights by prohibiting the company from selling Raging Bitch Twentieth Anniversary Belgian-Style India Pale Ale. Flying Dog Brewery, LLP v. Mich. Liquor Control Comm’n, No. __ (W.D. Mich., filed March 25, 2011). According to the complaint, a British artist, who once worked with journalist Hunter S. Thompson, designed Flying Dog’s beer labels, including the one at issue. The defendants rejected Flying Dog’s application for a license to sell the pale ale in the state, allegedly finding “that the proposed label which includes the brand name ‘Raging Bitch’ contains such language deemed detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the general public.” Claiming loss of sales and goodwill, the plaintiff alleges that its label constitutes expression protected by the First Amendment and seeks preliminary and…
Hormel Foods, LLC has filed a complaint in a Minnesota federal court against a company that also makes a canned meat product, alleging that the company is infringing Hormel’s SPAM® trademark, which consists of yellow lettering on a blue background. Hormel Foods, LLC v. Zwanenberg Food Group (USA), Inc., No. __ (D. Minn., filed March 30, 2011). The defendant allegedly began selling its product in October 2010 in a can with yellow labeling on a blue background. When Hormel sent a cease and desist letter, the company allegedly switched to a new design, white on a red background. Thereafter, the defendant resumed using the yellow on blue background label for products shipped to the Philippines and Japan. According to the complaint, Hormel has produced 7 billion cans of SPAM® products, making the brand “a famous American icon. Its timelessness has earned it roles in films, a fan club and a…
A coalition of more than 50 trade organizations, seed businesses, farms, and farmers has filed a lawsuit in a federal court in New York, to stop Monsanto Co. from enforcing its genetically engineered (GE) seed patents against farmers whose fields become contaminated with the GE seeds. Organic Seed Growers & Trade Ass’n v. Monsanto Co., No. 11-2163 (S.D.N.Y., filed March 29, 2011). Among other matters, the plaintiffs claim that the seed patents are invalid, because “only technology with a beneficial societal use may be patented,” they violate “the prohibition against double patenting, each is anticipated or rendered obvious by prior art, and each fails to satisfy the requirements of written description, enablement and best mode.” The plaintiffs also allege that the patents are not infringed by farmers whose fields become contaminated with GE seeds, because the farmers do not intend to use them, “and Monsanto’s patent rights in transgenic seed exhaust…
Nebraska Beef Ltd. has reportedly agreed to settle its lawsuit against Meyer Natural Foods LLC, and a federal court in Nebraska has apparently ordered the parties to file a motion to dismiss by April 25, 2011. Nebraska Beef recalled about 7 million pounds of beef in a 2008 E. coli outbreak linked to some 76 illnesses. According to a news source, some of the meat came from cattle that the defendant purchased and sent to Nebraska Beef’s plant for processing. While the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, Nebraska Beef, which contends the contamination did not originate at its facility, had been seeking a declaration that it was not required to indemnify Meyer for legal claims related to the recalled meat filed against Meyer. See Fremont Tribune, March 26, 2011.
A federal court in New Jersey has granted in part the motion to dismiss filed by the Campbell Soup Co. in litigation alleging that consumers were misled by the company’s lower-sodium labels, believing they were a healthier alternative to regular soups, which allegedly contain about the same levels of sodium as the more expensive low-sodium versions. Smajlaj v. Campbell Soup Co., No. 10-1332 (D.N.J., decided March 23, 2011). The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide class of consumers, and named plaintiff Rosa Smajlaj has voluntarily dismissed her claims, so the suit will proceed with four other New Jersey residents as named plaintiffs. The defendant sought to dismiss the claims under the plausibility pleading standard established in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009), and on the basis of federal preemption. The court determined that the claims of misleading labels were not…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a settlement with Dean Foods Co. over antitrust concerns about its acquisition of the Foremost Farms USA Coop. Under the agreement, which will be published in the Federal Register for comment and must undergo court approval, Dean will “divest a significant milk processing plant in Waukesha, Wis., and related assets . . . including the Golden Guernsey brand name.” The agreement also apparently requires Dean to “notify the department before it makes any future acquisition of milk processing plants for which the purchase price is more than $3 million.” According to DOJ, the divestiture will “restore competition in the sale of milk to schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.” See Department of Justice Press Release, March 29, 2011.
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