A company that issued Citrus and Allied Essences Ltd. a commercial umbrella insurance policy in 2006 and 2007 has filed suit in a New York state court seeking a declaration that it is not obligated to defend the food-flavoring company in suits by those alleging respiratory injury from diacetyl exposure or to pay damages. Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Citrus & Allied Essences Ltd., No. 650158/2013 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty., filed January 17, 2013). According to the complaint, Citrus and its other insurers have claimed that the primary insurance policies for those years have been exhausted by settlements with plaintiffs in the underlying lawsuits. According to the umbrella insurer, however, because the bodily injury did not take place during the policy period, those other policies have not been exhausted. The insurance plaintiff also seeks to recover the amount it paid under a reservation of rights to cover a “shortfall” to…
Category Archives Issue 468
The NAACP’s New York state branch and the Hispanic Federation have joined those arguing in court that New York City’s restrictions on the size of sugary beverages sold by certain vendors, such as corner stores and delis, should not take effect on March 12, 2013. During the January 23 hearing, opponents, including several City Council members, apparently argued that the rule should have been adopted by the elected City Council rather than the mayor’s appointed health board and that it was too narrow, exempting certain other types of beverages and excluding convenience stores and supermarkets, to be fair. The American Beverage Association and groups including movie theater owners and Korean grocers were expected to oppose the rule, but the issue is reportedly complex for minority advocates in light of high obesity rates in the African-American and Hispanic communities. Still, these groups claimed in an amicus brief that the rule will…
As consumers around the world have begun posting images online of their Subway “footlong” sandwiches with rulers showing that the restaurant’s offerings are actually 11 or 11.5 inches in length, several have taken their claims to court. Buren v. Doctor’s Assocs., Inc., No. 13 498 (N.D. Ill., filed January 22, 2013); Pendrak v. Subway Sandwich Shops, Inc., No. ___ (N.J. Super. Ct., filed January 22, 2013). Plaintiff Nguyen Buren filed his lawsuit in a federal court in Chicago, claiming that his sandwich was less than 11 inches long and alleging a “pattern of fraudulent, deceptive and otherwise improper advertising, sales and marketing practices.” New Jersey residents John Farley and Charles Pendrak allege in state court, “Despite the repeated use of uniform language by Subway stating that this sandwich is a ‘footlong,’ the product in question is not, in fact, a foot long. Rather this product consistently measures significantly less than…
Chicago Alderman Edward Burke (14) has introduced a proposed ordinance that would prohibit the distribution of energy drinks in the city. Citing the popularity of the drinks among teenagers and young adults and the dangers they purportedly pose to health, the ordinance defines “energy drink” as “a canned or bottled beverage which contains an amount of caffeine exceeding or equal to 180 milligrams per container and containing Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) or Guarana.” The proposed ordinance also states that those violating the ordinance would face fines of $100 to $500 per offense with a mandatory revocation or suspension of business licenses for repeat offenders. Some legal commentators and critics reportedly claim that the proposed ban is rife with legal flaws and misrepresentations about the law regarding energy drinks and that the ambiguity surrounding the regulation of these products needs to be addressed. The proposal was assigned to the City Council Committee…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued a notice of its intent to list the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) as a reproductive toxicant under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). The agency has proposed the action “under the authoritative bodies listing mechanism,” noting that the National Toxicology Program—Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction published a report in 2008 concluding that “the chemical causes developmental toxicity in laboratory animals at high levels of exposure.” Comments are requested by February 25, 2013. OEHHA has also proposed adopting a maximum allowable dose level (MADL) for BPA of 290 micrograms per day. Comments on this proposal are requested no later than March 11, 2013. According to the agency, “Some businesses may not be able to afford the expense of establishing a MADL and therefore may have to defend litigation for a…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) will reportedly prosecute a department store for installing raw-milk vending machines at its flagship London location. According to a January 23, 2013, FSA press release, the agency has sought charges against Selfridges Retail Limited as “a person other than the occupier of a production holding or distributor” under Regulation 32 and Schedule 6 Paragraph (2)(1) of the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations. FSA has also included the farmer who supplied the milk as “an occupier of a production holding” under Regulation 32 and Schedule 6(2)(2). Westminster Magistrates Court has set the hearing date for February 6, 2013. The vending machines reportedly came to FSA’s attention in 2011, when the agency initiated an investigation of the retailer and demanded that the unpasteurized milk products carry a warning label. Under current regulations, farmers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can sell raw cow’s milk directly to consumers…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a February 5, 2013, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive public comments on draft U.S. positions for discussion during the 23rd Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Langkawi, Malaysia, on February 25-March 1, 2013. Agenda items include a proposed draft standard for fish oils, proposed draft amendment to parameters for rice bran oil in the standard for named vegetable oils, discussion paper on the revision of the limit for campesterol in the Codex standard for olive oils and olive pomace oils, and discussion paper on cold-pressed oils. See Federal Register, January 23, 2013.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested public comments on the information collection provisions of regulations that “require registration for domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States.” According to FDA, the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 requires food facilities to provide information via Form FDA 3537 (§1.231) or the electronic Food Facility Registration Module that will support FDA’s enforcement activities and help the agency issue notifications in the event of accidental or deliberate contamination. In 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act amended these regulations to compel facilities to renew their registrations biennially and to submit additional information, such as “the email address for the contact person of a domestic facility and the email address of the U.S. agent for a foreign facility.” Based on the registrations received in previous years,…
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