A New York state court has vacated a New York City prohibition on expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) after a challenge by several food companies, supermarkets and food-service businesses that used EPS in their food packaging. Dart Container Corp. v. De Blasio, No. 100734/15 (N.Y. Super. Ct., order entered September 21, 2015). The court provides a history of the municipal ban—more specifically, a statute dictating that EPS would be prohibited in favor of recyclable materials unless the commissioner of the Department of Sanitation of New York (DSNY) found it to be recyclable—which went into effect July 1, 2015, with penalties delayed until January 2016. Among the plaintiffs are Dart Container Corp., the largest EPS manufacturer, and Plastics Recycling Inc., an EPS recycler, which offered proposals that would designate EPS as recyclable and thereby permit it under the city statute. “The mandate to the Commissioner was to determine whether EPS should be designated…
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Stewart Parnell, former chief executive of Peanut Corp. of America (PCA), has been sentenced to 28 years in prison following a conviction on federal conspiracy and fraud charges for his part in a Salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened more than 700. U.S. v. Parnell, No. 13-cr-0012 (M.D. Ga., Albany Div., order entered September 21, 2015). “Americans should be able to trust that the food we buy for ourselves and our families is safe,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery in a September 21, 2015, press release. “The sentences handed down today to officials associated with the Peanut Corporation of America demonstrate the consequences for those whose criminal actions threaten that trust by introducing contaminated food into the marketplace. Our prosecution is just one more example of the forceful actions that the Department of Justice, with its agency partners, takes against any individual or company who compromises…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against Internet advertisements for Drink Doctor Ltd.’s alcohol delivery service, ruling that two banners on the company’s Facebook page “drew a link between provision of alcohol and the provision of medical assistance.” In its ruling, the agency contends that even though consumers were unlikely to confuse Drink Doctor with genuine medical assistance, the use of medical imagery “presented alcohol as a product to be used in the same manner” as medicine. ASA also takes issue with the “boozebulance” vehicle and emergency phone number featured in the ads, as these reportedly implied that alcohol beverages were “necessary and indispensable.” “We also considered that the name ‘Drink Doctor’ in itself contained the same implication by conflating the role of a medical professional with the provision of alcohol,” concludes the ruling, which orders Drink Doctor to refrain from using medical imagery or terminology…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have announced an October 19, 2015, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss draft U.S. positions for review at the 47th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) slated for November 9-13 in Boston, Mass. Among other things, CCFH is responsible for prioritizing topics related to microbiological risk assessments and drafting basic hygiene provisions applicable to all food. Agenda items for October 19 include proposed draft guidelines for controlling nontyphoidal Salmonella in beef and pork meat and a discussion paper about revising the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. See Federal Register, August 25, 2015. Issue 579
A study examining increased preterm birth rates in the United States has found “little evidence of a relationship between BPA [bisphenol A] and prematurity.” David Cantonwine, et al., “Urinary Bisphenol A Levels during Pregnancy and Risk of Preterm Birth,” Environmental Health Perspectives, September 2015. After analyzing urinary BPA levels throughout pregnancy in 130 cases of preterm birth (PTB) and 352 randomly assigned controls, researchers with Harvard Medical School and University of Michigan School of Public Health report that, “[i]n adjusted models, urinary BPA averaged across pregnancy was not significantly associated with PTB.” They note, however, that “averaged BPA exposure during pregnancy was associated with significantly increased odds of being delivered preterm among females, but not males.” “Our study had several strengths, including a repeated time point assessment of BPA exposure, ultrasound dating of gestational age, physician-validated clinical outcomes, and a large number of subjects and preterm cases, which allowed for exploring…
With the launch of services targeting the grocery and alcoholic beverage segments, Amazon.com, Inc., has garnered media attention for its latest forays into a new and competitive marketplace. In a September 1, 2015, article, The Los Angeles Times compares Amazon’s Farmers Market Direct program to other food delivery startups aiming to bring fresh local products from farm to doorstep. A partnership with Connecticut-based Fresh Nation, the Farmers Market Direct program seeks to connect Southern California agricultural producers to Amazon’s consumer base, promising food delivery within 36 hours of harvest. As the Times notes, “Development of food-delivery technology has attracted an enormous amount of money. About $710 million was invested in the segment in the first half of 2015, more than the $681 million invested all of last year.” Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon’s one-hour delivery service for alcohol beverages joins “more than a half-dozen alcohol delivery startups……
“American consumers expect and deserve safe food. Yet, time and again, food producers have cut corners on food safety knowing full well that tainted products cause serious illness or even death,” asserted American Association for Justice (AAJ) President Larry Tawwater in issuing a report condemning industry for allegedly prioritizing profits over people. The report contends that consumer lawsuits have become the most effective “mechanism for deterring negligent behavior and rooting out systemic problems in the food chain” absent adequate food-safety practices by food companies and appropriate monitoring by regulators. Among other things, AAJ calls on Congress to declare multidrug-resistant Salmonella an official adulterant and to enact legislation creating a single food safety agency. AAJ was formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). See AAJ News Release, September 2, 2015. Issue 577
A California woman has filed a putative class action against Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. alleging that, despite advertised claims to the contrary, the company’s restaurants do not serve food free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Gallagher v. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., No. 15-3952 (N.D. Cal., filed August 26, 2015). The complaint asserts that although the company advertised in April 2015 that it would remove GMOs from its food, “Chipotle serves meat products that come from animals which feed on GMOs, including corn and soy. Chipotle’s tacos and burritos are also usually served with sour cream and cheese from dairy farms that feed animals with GMOs.” In addition, Chipotle sells soft drinks made with GMO corn syrup, the complaint notes. Colleen Gallagher seeks to represent a California class to obtain damages and an injunction for alleged violations of the state’s consumer protection statutes. Chipotle became the first fast-casual chain to disclose…
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) alleging that the agency has routinely failed to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records related to genetically engineered (GE) crops. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Animal & Plant Health Inspection Serv., No. 15-1377 (D.D.C., filed August 25, 2015). CFS asserts that APHIS has unlawfully delayed its responses to at least 29 FOIA requests or appeals related to its decision to withdraw proposed regulations that would update existing management of GE crops. “APHIS has a track record of irresponsible and inadequate regulation of GE crops,” CFS Staff Attorney Cristina Stella said in an August 25, 2015, press release. “In the absence of thorough government oversight, public access to information about these crops becomes all the more critical. This lawsuit is necessary to stop…
A California federal court has determined that Safeway is liable for $30 million in damages for claims alleging that the company charged different prices for products sold online despite a contractual agreement that in-store and online prices would be the same. Rodman v. Safeway Inc., No. 11-3003 (N.D. Cal., order entered August 31, 2015). The court granted partial summary judgment to the plaintiffs in December 2014, finding that Safeway breached the contract. Details about the decision appear in Issue 549 of this Update. The court arrived at the damages amount by calculating the sum that Safeway earned from the concealed markup between April 2010 and December 2012. The court also rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt to expand the class to include purchases before 2006, when Safeway switched from paying a third party to manage online sales to running the website in-house. Issue 578
