A recent study has allegedly concurred with theories suggesting that newborn mice exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) exhibit signs of behavioral changes as adults. Henrik Viberg, et al., “Dose-dependent behavioral disturbances after a single neonatal Bisphenol A dose,” Toxicology, December 2011. After administering a single dose of BPA to three groups of 10-day-old male mice, researchers reportedly found that the two groups exposed to the highest BPA concentrations behaved differently than normal mice when placed in new environments at 2 and 5 months of age. According to the study abstract, these findings suggest that “a single neonatal exposure to [BPA] causes adult disturbances in spontaneous behavior in a novel home environment” that are both dose-related and long-lasting. In particular, the authors noted that the apparent effects of neonatal BPA exposure on the cholinergic system are similar to those seen “after a single postnatal exposure to other [persistent organic pollutants], such as…
Category Archives Issue 421
According to a December 7, 2011, New York Times book review, a new tome by freelance writer Tom Mueller has claimed that 50 percent of the olive oil sold in America “is, to some degree, fraudulent.” Based on an August 13, 2007, New Yorker article, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil apparently aims “to demonstrate the brazen fraud in the olive oil industry and to teach readers how to sniff out the good stuff.” To this end, Mueller reportedly explains how unscrupulous suppliers “frequently adulterate olive oil with low-grade vegetable oils and add artificial coloring,” resulting in “a urine-colored and musty butter substitute.” But aside from such “alarming” statistics, Times critic Dwight Garner ultimately found the prose too “unctuous” for his taste. “The Food and Drug Administration considers this adulteration a low priority. Grody olive oil is not killing anyone. We’re talking about a first-world problem here,” Garner…
A Cleveland judge has reportedly decided that an obese third grader who was removed from his mother’s custody after she was apparently unable to control his weight can now be removed from foster care. County child welfare officials had convinced the court in October 2011 that the 218-pound child was in imminent danger; they had been working with the family for more than a year after the boy was taken to a hospital with breathing problems. According to a news source, the court found that the boy had lost about 25 pounds during his two months in foster care. He ordered the honor student to live with his uncle following a hearing that took place on the child’s ninth birthday. See The Slatest, November 29, 2011; msnbc.com, December 14, 2011.
A recent report funded by the Pew Environment Group has suggested that many seafood products bearing eco-labels are “not much better than conventional farmed seafood options when it comes to protecting the ocean environment.” Titled “How Green is Your Eco-label? A Comparison of the Environmental Benefits of Marine Aquaculture Standards,” the study evidently relied on the 2010 Global Aquaculture Performance Index “to determine numerical scores of environmental performance for 20 different eco-labels for farmed marine finfish, such as salmon, cod, turbot and grouper.” Researchers then ranked voluntary organic, retailer and industry standards in terms of both absolute and value-added performance based on 10 environmental impact measures, including antibiotic and parasiticide use, the ecological impact of escaped pen fish, and the sustainability of feed fish. Intended as “a kind of Michelin guide for standards,” the report did not assess individual farms but instead asked “how poorly a farm could perform and…
George Washington University Law Professor John Banzhaf has issued a press release highlighting recent action the Food and Drug Administration took against a food company that purportedly misbrands one of its products by declaring it “All Natural” while making the product with a synthetic chemical preservative ingredient. According to Banzhaf, the agency’s warning letter is “likely to lend support to and encourage an ever-growing number of major class action law suits being filed on these grounds, says the public interest law professor whose earlier movement to use legal action as a weapon against obesity apparently inspired these new legal actions.” He claims that The American Lawyer recognized how he started this litigation movement, noting in an article that he used the courts to address obesity, “just as he had earlier done in leading the use of legal action as a weapon against smoking.” Banzhaf further states, “The movement which Banzhaf started…
A California resident who claims economic injury from purchasing Frito-Lay snack and chip products advertised as “All Natural” while allegedly containing genetically engineered (GE) corn and vegetable oil seeks to certify a nationwide class in a consumer fraud action filed in a California federal court. Gengo v. Frito-Lay N. Am., Inc., No. 11-10322 (C.D. Cal., filed December 14, 2011). According to the complaint, the company’s tortilla chips, sun chips and multigrain snacks are prominently labeled as “made with ALL NATURAL ingredients.” Because they are instead purportedly made with corn, soybean and canola oils “made from genetically modified plants and organisms,” the plaintiff contends that “she did not get the ‘all natural’ Tostito's and SunChip’s products that were advertised and she paid for.” Alleging violations of the California Business & Professions Code (misleading advertising and unfair competition) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, breach of express warranty, and violation of the Magnuson-Moss…
A California resident is seeking to certify a nationwide class in a lawsuit alleging that Walgreens Co. 100% Grape Juice and 100% Apple Juice contain “dangerously high levels” of lead and arsenic. Boysen v. Walgreen Co., No. 11-6262 (N.D. Cal., filed December 13, 2011). According to the complaint, the levels of lead and arsenic in these beverages are higher than FDA limits on these chemicals in bottled water, and the company fails to disclose information about the contaminants on product labels or in advertising. The plaintiff alleges that California includes lead and arsenic on the list of those substances known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm, but does not otherwise include a Proposition 65 claim. Alleging unfair business acts or practices and false or misleading advertising under California law, breach of implied warranty, and unjust enrichment, the plaintiff seeks restitution; actual, statutory and punitive damages; injunctive relief; attorney’s…
A federal court in Alabama has granted in part a motion to stay discovery in litigation alleging that an orange juice maker misrepresented that its product is not made from juice concentrate, but is rather “100% pure Florida squeezed.” Leftwich v. TWS Mktg. Group, Inc., No. 11-1879 (N.D. Ala., order entered December 12, 2011). The court will allow discovery as to “general personal jurisdiction” over the non-resident beverage maker to proceed, while staying discovery as to all other matters. Residents of Indiana and Alabama brought the putative class action after the Food and Drug Administration warned the company in November 2010 that its labeling violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. According to the court, if jurisdiction over the defendant is lacking, it will dismiss the Indiana plaintiff, “leaving [the Alabama plaintiff] to proceed only on the count of unjust enrichment—which itself is still subject for consideration in [the…
A federal court in Georgia has determined that it has personal jurisdiction over a Michigan food-packaging company that was sued as a third party defendant in litigation over a recalled baby food product. IPN USA Corp. v. Nurture, Inc., No. 11-501 (N.D. Ga., decided December 12, 2011). A Food and Drug Administration investigation apparently concluded that the third-party defendant (Liquid) had violated agency regulations on the manufacture of acidified and acid food products. While the baby food manufacturer (Nurture) allegedly sustained millions in damages in the recall, it was the packaging supplier (IPN) that brought the lawsuit against Nurture for breach of contract. According to the court, Liquid had sufficient contacts with Georgia for the court to exercise jurisdiction over the company. For purposes of packaging Nurture’s baby food, Liquid had purchased a machine, packaging supplies and other equipment from IPN’s Georgia-based entity, which referred a “significant number” of prospective customers…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has reopened the comment period until January 17, 2012, on a proposed rule that would amend and republish the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act’s “list of selected agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products.” Details of the proposed rule were covered in Issue 412 of this Update. See Federal Register, December 15, 2011.
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