Yum! Brands Inc.’s KFC has announced on its Chinese-language website that it has filed lawsuits against three Chinese media companies for allegedly spreading rumors that the company has bred its chickens to have eight legs and six wings. The complaint, filed in Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Court, reportedly alleges that the media companies disseminated false information on social media about KFC’s food quality, including digitally altered photos of deformed chickens and rumors of maggots in a delivery order. KFC has more than 4,600 restaurants in China, accounting for about one-half of its revenue. The company reportedly alleges that 4,000 defamatory messages were viewed more than 100,000 times and seeks 1.5 million yuan, or about US$242,000, from each media company as well as an apology. See The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, June 1, 2015. Issue 567
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Absolut Co. has filed a complaint and a motion for an injunction against Happy Hearts Wine LLC, a New York City importer of Israeli wine, after Absolut noticed a Certificate of Label Approval filed with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for “Kahfua,” which it alleges is too close to Kahlua®. Absolut Co. Aktiebolag v. Happy Hearts Wine, LLC., No.15-3224 (E.D.N.Y., motion filed June 3, 2015). Happy Hearts’ Kahfua, a “coffee expresso [sic] liqueur,” is packaged in a similar brown bottle with a similar yellow and red label written in a similar script to Kahlua®, Absolut argues in its motion. It further alleges that Happy Hearts has acted with bad faith by infringing Absolut’s trademarks. “Simply stated, there can be no ‘innocent explanation’ for such a blatant knockoff,” the motion asserts. In addition to trademark infringement, Absolut alleges that Happy Hearts is engaging in trademark counterfeiting, which requires…
Two plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit against Gerber Products Co. alleging that the company misrepresented its Gerber® Good Start® infant formula by advertising it as the “first and only formula whose consumption reduces the risk of infants developing allergies.” Hasemann v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 15-2995 (E.D.N.Y., filed May 21, 2015). The complaint echoes a similar lawsuit against Gerber pending in New Jersey federal court. The plaintiffs assert that Gerber advertises its product as providing health benefits through partially hydrolyzed whey protein despite an alleged U.S. Food and Drug Administration denial in 2005 that Gerber’s formula aids against allergy development. The plaintiffs seek class certification and damages of more than $5 million. Additional details about Gerber’s successful motion to receive medical records in the analogous case appear in Issue 562 of this Update. See Legal Newsline, June 2, 2015. Issue 567
A ban on growing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Jackson County, Oregon, took effect on June 5, 2015, after a federal court refused to block the voter-approved statute at the request of alfalfa farmers who have grown GMO crops. Schultz Family Farms LLC v. Jackson Cty., No. 14-1975 (D. Ore., Medford Div., order entered May 29, 2015). The court noted that the issue of GMO farming encompasses several broad questions about the American food supply that it would not attempt to answer; its decision “is simply about the statutory construction of the Right to Farm Act, Jackson County Ordinance 635, and Oregon Senate Bill 863.” The court first describes Oregon’s Right to Farm Act, finding that “in the conflicts that arise between active, functioning farms and new, neighboring suburbanites, who inevitably find the farming practices loud, smelly, invasive, or simply irritating, the Oregon legislature has decided, as have many states,…
A Georgia federal court has upheld the convictions of Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell and Mary Wilkerson, former Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) executives, after an investigation into the defendants’ claims of jury misconduct. United States v. Parnell, 13-12 (U.S. Dist. Ct., M.D. Ga., order entered May 28, 2015). The three were convicted on charges related to a 2008-2009 Salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds of people nationwide and was linked to nine deaths. After a jury convicted them, the defendants argued that some jury members had conducted outside research, based on allegations made to them by Juror 34. The court rejected their argument, noting, “Throughout the sealed proceedings held on alleged juror misconduct, the court only uncovered one juror who could be termed biased: Juror 34.” Further, “the evidence against the Defendants was overwhelming,” the court said. The defendants’ attorney told media that it planned to appeal the ruling. Additional details about…
New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan (D) has reportedly vetoed a bill seeking to allow alcohol beverage labels to depict minors as long as the advertising is not intended to promote underage alcohol consumption. Introduced by Rep. Keith Murphy (R-Hillsborough), the measure (H.B. 122) would have struck language from the state’s rules on alcohol beverage advertising that prohibits “any reference to minors, pictorial or otherwise.” Although Murphy pointed to several labeling designs that use images of children or babies but do not promote underage consumption, New Hampshire Liquor Commission Director of Enforcement and Licensing James Wilson opposed the revision on the grounds that it obscures the agency’s “bright line standard” for labeling. As Hassan argued, “Substance misuse, including alcohol misuse, continues to be one of the major public health and safety challenges facing us as a state. Moreover, statistics suggest that New Hampshire has among the highest rates of underage drinking…
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) has released its final scientific opinion on acrylamide, concluding that dietary exposure to the substance “potentially increases the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups.” Naturally formed in starchy food products during high-temperature cooking, acrylamide is digested and distributed throughout the body, where one of its metabolites is said to cause “the gene mutations and tumors seen in animal studies.” “Evidence from animal studies shows that acrylamide and its metabolite glycidamide are genotoxic and carcinogenic: they damage DNA and cause cancer,” states the CONTAM Panel, which reviewed 43,419 analytical results from food commodities as well as the latest scientific literature. “Evidence from human studies that dietary exposure to acrylamide causes cancer is currently limited and inconclusive.” In particular, the agency singles out fried potato products, coffee, biscuits, crackers, crisp bread, and soft bread as…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued its Strategic Plan 2015-20 outlining a number of initiatives it plans to undertake with industry and other stakeholders over the next five years. Key activities include (i) implementing campaigns to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness caused by Campylobacter and Listeria infections; (ii) expanding capabilities of the agency’s newly established Food Crime Unit; (iii) expanding the agency’s horizon scanning and emerging risks analytical capabilities; (iv) establishing new platforms for consumer engagement; and (v) continuing robust engagement with the European Union on revisions to the regulation on official food and feed controls. See FSA News Release, June 3, 2015. Issue 567
The International Trade Administration’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness will hold a public meeting on June 23-24, 2015, at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. The 45-member group is charged with providing the Commerce secretary with recommendations for a comprehensive national freight infrastructure and freight policy to support U.S. supply chain and export competitiveness. Stakeholders are invited to submit written comments about the work of the committee no later than 5 p.m. EST on June 15. See Federal Register, June 2, 2015. Issue 567
Two new reports from nonprofit advocacy organizations highlight global water risks and urge food and beverage companies to adopt more robust water stewardship practices at every point in the supply chain. Published by Ceres, Feeding Ourselves Thirsty: How the Food Sector Is Managing Global Water Risks “ranks the nation’s 37 largest food companies on how effectively they are managing precious freshwater supplies.” Finding that packaged food and beverage companies outperformed the agricultural sector in their responses to water risks, the report estimates that “only 30 percent of the companies considered water risks as part of major business planning and investment decision-making,” while only 16 percent “have sustainable agriculture policies that address water.” To help companies improve water efficiency, Ceres recommends, among other things, that global companies (i) analyze water risks for the entire supply chain, (ii) invest in projects that improve watershed health and (iii) disclose water risks and management plans…
