In a recent paper, a member of European Food Safety Authority and Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety genetically modified organism (GMO) panels has explored whether biosafety data provided to regulatory authorities by companies developing GMOs should be protected from disclosure. K.M. Nielsen, “Biosafety Data as Confidential Business Information,” PLOS Biology, 2013. Noting that standards or criteria as to what constitutes “legitimate” confidential business information (CBI) in GM product applications are lacking, the author argues that CBI claims are used indiscriminately and prevent independent research and monitoring. The article concludes with the author’s suggested criteria for “warranted CBI claims.” Among other things, the criteria would exclude from protection “information present in patent documents or for information not considered to be or not under confidentiality agreements in other companies/locations/countries.”
Category Archives Issue 479
Three research articles recently published in BMJ have reportedly concluded that reducing dietary salt consumption and increasing potassium intake “will have major health and cost benefits across the world,” according to an April 4, 2013, summary in BMJ Case Reports. The first study involved a systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on “the effect of longer term modest salt reduction on blood pressure.” Feng He, et al., “Effect of longer term modest salt reduction on blood pressure: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials,” BMJ, April 2013. Using data from 34 trials with 3,320 participants, the study’s authors determined that “a modest reduction in salt intake for four or more weeks cause significant and, from a population viewpoint, important falls in blood pressure in both hypertensive and normotensive individuals.” In particular, they argued that reducing salt intake to 3 grams per day “will have a greater effect” than current recommendations “and…
A recent study has allegedly linked L-carnitine, a nutrient found in red meat and commonly used as an additive in energy drinks, to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Robert Koeth, “Intestinal microbiota metabolism of L-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis,” Nature Medicine, April 2013. According to the study, L-carnitine, like the trimethylamine-containing compound choline, forms a proatherogenic compound known as trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) when metabolized by intestinal microbiota. Given the “markedly” increased ingestion of L-carnitine in industrial societies, researchers apparently set out to examine the effects of the nutrient on CVD risk using isotope tracer studies in humans as well as animal models. In particular, the study’s authors reportedly “tested the carnitine and TMAO levels of omnivores, vegans and vegetarians, and examined the clinical data of 2,595 patients undergoing elective cardiac evaluations,” in addition to examining “the cardiac effects of a carnitine-enhanced diet in normal mice compared…
Scientists presenting at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society have reportedly identified elevated levels of arsenic in some beers sold in Germany. According to Mehmet Coelhan, who conducted the study of 140 beers as part of a monitoring program, “the discovery could be of importance for breweries and other food processors elsewhere that use the same filtering technology implicated in the elevated arsenic levels in some German beers.” The team concluded that arsenic was released into the beer from a filtering material called “kieselguhr, or diatomaceous earth, that’s used to remove yeast, hops and other particles and give the beer a crystal clear appearance.” According to Coelhan, “The resulting arsenic levels were only slightly elevated, and it is not likely that people would get sick from drinking beers made with this filtration method because of the arsenic. The arsenic is still at low levels—the risk of…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), other advocacy groups and local public health officials have sent letters to the CEOs of supermarkets and pharmacies urging them to “encourage customers to purchase healthier, no- and low-calorie drinks in place of higher calorie sugar drinks to improve customers’ health, as well as boost [their] company’s reputation for social responsibility and caring for the health of its customers.” The letters cite scientific studies purportedly demonstrating that “sugar drinks (carbonated or not) are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic,” “the single largest source of calories in many Americans’ diets,” and “the only food or beverage that has been directly linked to obesity.” “With supermarkets [and pharmacies] selling the lion’s share of sugar drinks, your company and others clearly have an opportunity to promote your customers’ health by encouraging customers to switch from high-calorie to low-calorie drinks,” the letters assert. “Possibilities…
An Ohio appeals court has determined that Ohio legislators improperly enacted an appropriations bill rider that was intended to preempt a Cleveland ordinance prohibiting the use of “industrially produced trans fat” in foods prepared by retail food establishments and food service operations, such as fast-food restaurants, unless the foods were served “in a manufacturer’s original sealed package.” City of Cleveland v. Ohio, No. 98616 (Ohio Ct. App., 8th App. Dist., Cuyahoga Cty., decided March 28, 2013). Additional information about Cleveland’s lawsuit challenging the state law appears in Issue 422 of this Update. The court agreed with the city that the state law was an unconstitutional attempt to preempt the city from exercising its home rule powers under the state constitution and that the provisions, enacted as amendments to a state appropriations bill, violated the constitution’s one subject rule. In determining that the appropriations bill amendment was not a “general law,” the…
A firearms company that holds the Tommy Gun™ trademark has brought an infringement action against a company selling its vodka products in 19-inch bottles shaped like Tommy guns. Saeilo Enters., Inc. v. Alphonse Capone Enters., Inc., No. 13-2306 (N.D. Ill., filed March 27, 2013). The plaintiff seeks damages, treble damages, profits, attorney’s fees, and costs under state and federal law, as well as a permanent injunction, cancellation of the vodka maker’s trademark registrations and the destruction of remaining stock. According to a news source, the plaintiff has been aggressive in protecting its brand and, in 2008, sued a company making Tommy gun replicas. It has also apparently trademarked the term “Chicago Typewriter,” a slang expression for the submachine gun. See ABA Journal, April 5, 2013.
Two California residents who recently sued Trader Joe’s for allegedly misbranding certain foods by using “organic evaporated cane juice” on its product labels have filed a putative nationwide class action against a yogurt company with similar allegations. Gitson v. Clover Stornetta Farms, Inc., No. 13-1517 (N.D. Cal., filed April 4, 2013). Details about the Trader Joe’s lawsuit appear in Issue 477 of this Update. The named plaintiffs contend that the defendant markets some 14 different flavors of its yogurt products, all of which list “organic evaporated cane juice” as an ingredient on their labels “in violation of a number of labeling regulations.” They cite Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance, warning letters and an open letter to demonstrate that use of this term for a yogurt sweetener is “illegal.” The plaintiffs also target the company’s websites for their alleged used of “illegal claims.” According to the complaint, they relied on…
A federal court in California has dismissed consumer-fraud putative-class claims filed in a first amended complaint against the Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., alleging violations pertaining to white chocolate products that the named plaintiff did not purchase. Miller v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., No. 12-4936 (N.D. Cal., order entered April 5, 2013). Details about a similar order entered as to the original complaint appear in Issue 465 of this Update. While the court disagreed with the defendant that the products were dissimilar because its label description—“Ghirardelli® Chocolate”—is like a Dunkin’ Donuts logo used on products, such as coffee, that are clearly not donuts, the court found that “an ‘unlawful’ claim based on ‘chocolate’ necessarily reaches back to the FDA definition. Identity labeling of food requires—under the plain language of the regulation that the statement of identity of the commodity on the principal display panel of a food in package form be ‘the name…
SHB’s Public Policy Group recently contributed to a favorable outcome for animal medicine manufacturers in the Supreme Court of Texas, which ruled in Strickland v. Medlen that emotion-based damages, including loss of companionship and sentimental damages, are not permitted in pet injury claims in Texas. Presenting on behalf of amici during oral argument, SHB Partner Victor Schwartz highlighted the public policy issues at stake after a lower appellate court in Texas broke with the majority of courts nationally by allowing broad, new emotion-based damages for pet deaths in a November 2011 ruling. SHB Partner Phil Goldberg authored the amici brief on behalf of the Animal Health Institute and several animal health organizations, developed other amici and helped prepare defense counsel on key issues, while Partner Manuel Lopez served as local counsel on the SHB amici brief and provided expertise on the appellate process. In its ruling, the court ultimately recognized that finding…
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