A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging Health-Ade LLC's kombucha contains four to five times the amount of sugar listed on its label. Gonzalez v. Health-Ade LLC, 28-1836 (N.D. Cal., filed March 23, 2018). The complaint alleges that the nutrition panels for nine of Health-Ade's products state they contain from two to four grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving, but the plaintiffs’ testing apparently indicates the beverages contain between 11 and 13 grams per serving. Claiming false and misleading advertising, unjust enrichment, breach of warranties and negligent misrepresentation, the plaintiffs seek certification of nationwide and California classes, injunctive relief, corrective advertising, damages and application of the common fund doctrine.
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In-N-Out Burger has reportedly requested a restraining order against a YouTube video creator who allegedly posed as the company's CEO at two of its restaurants. The man allegedly argued with employees, demanded that kitchen employees prepare him food for a “taste test,” and took food out of a customer's hand, threw it on the floor and stepped on it. In a statement, a company executive reportedly said, “We have recently seen an increase of visitors to our stores, who are not customers but instead are intentionally disruptive and who then try to promote themselves through social media.” The lawsuit also petitions the Los Angeles Superior Court to impose a $1,000 fine for each violation of the restraining order and seeks damages of more than $25,000 for fraud, trespass, nuisance and criminal violations.
The New York Times has published a report exploring the debate among meat producers, scientists and regulators on the role of antibiotics in cattle feed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of antibiotics for livestock growth, but many producers continue to use the prescription-only substances for disease prevention. The debate centers on concern that overuse may create disease-resistant bacteria. According to the article, one feedlot has begun limiting the use of drugs, although it uses antibiotics to treat liver abscesses and intestinal diseases. An executive for the feedlot reportedly told the Times, “Antibiotic resistance is a fact of life, no two ways about it. We want to make sure that by virtue of our using these products we’re not contributing to it.” Other cattle producers and veterinarians reportedly said they have not seen “clear evidence” that antibiotics are causing increased bacterial resistance. The Times also interviewed a researcher who…
A study has reportedly found that Americans who consumed more restaurant, fast-food and cafeteria meals had phthalate levels up to 35 percent higher than those who ate out less frequently. Julia R. Varshavsky, et al., “Dietary sources of cumulative phthalate exposure among the U.S. general population in NHANES 2005-2014,” Environment International, March 29, 2018. The data was collected from more than 10,000 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. While the researchers reportedly found a significant association between eating out and higher phthalate levels across all age groups, teenagers apparently showed the highest association, with 55 percent. A previous study purportedly found that participants who ate the highest amount of fast food had phthalate levels as much as 40 percent higher than participants who rarely ate such foods.
The Center for Environmental Health, the Center for Food Safety, Cultivate Oregon, and the International Center for Technology Assessment have filed a complaint for declaratory and equitable relief against Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, alleging that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) withdrawal of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule (OLPP) violated both the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Ctr. for Envt’l Health v. Perdue, No. 18-1763 (N.D. Cal., filed March 21, 2018). The complaint alleges that USDA’s first rationale for withdrawal of the OLPP, that it lacked the authority to set standards for livestock production, is “contrary to the plain language of OFPA, which unambiguously requires USDA to promulgate additional standards for the care of livestock based on NOSB (National Organic Standards Board) recommendation." The rationale was not a permissible interpretation of the OFPA's requirements, the complaint asserts, and is arbitrary and capricious.…
A jury in Pennsylvania federal court has awarded $200,000 to a former Mondelez employee who alleged the company discriminated against her because of her age and terminated her after she complained of the alleged discrimination. Konsavage v. Mondelez Global LLC, No. 15-1155 (M.D. Pa., verdict issued March 19, 2018). The plaintiff, who worked for Nabisco and its successor Mondelez for 31 years, reportedly said that beginning in 2013 a new supervisor told her that she should reduce her workload to give younger employees a chance, that she lacked agility and that she had no potential at her age. The following year, she was allegedly demoted and forced to take a $9,000 pay cut before being fired a few months later. The jury awarded her emotional distress damages pursuant to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
Rebbl Inc. faces a putative class action alleging its “super herb” beverages are falsely advertised and labeled because the claims made for their ingredients are “not supported by sound scientific evidence.” Richburg v. Rebbl Inc., No. 18-1674 (E.D.N.Y., filed March 16, 2018). The complaint alleges that beverages in Rebbl’s product line of “Elixirs” and “Proteins” contain several ingredients—turmeric, reishi, maca, matcha, ashwaganda, medium chain triglyceride oil and coconut milk—that the company falsely asserts can reduce stress and improve beauty, health or wellness. Claiming violations of New York’s General Business Law, breach of warranties, fraud and unjust enrichment, the plaintiff seeks class certification, injunctive relief, damages and attorney’s fees.
Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, is facing criticism from a couple that owns the rights to “The Joy of Cooking,” which Wansink asserted had increased calorie counts of its recipes by an average of 44 percent since its first publication in 1936. The New Yorker reports that John Becker and his wife were “blindsided” when Wansink published “The Joy of Cooking Too Much” in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2009, but they assumed his findings were correct. At the time, they posted a response on the cookbook's website saying that out of 4,400 recipes, Wansink had analyzed 18. Becker later saw a cartoon commissioned by Cornell to appear with Wansink’s original study, and he decided to check Wansink’s results, apparently finding numerous recipes that contradicted Wansink's findings. Becker forwarded his research to James Heathers, a behavioral scientist at Northeastern University, who reportedly found issues…
Washington Governor Jay Inslee has signed into law the Healthy Food Packaging Act (H.B. 2658/S.B. 6396), making the state the first in the country to ban perfluorinated chemicals (PFAs) in food packaging. If the Washington's Department of Ecology identifies safer alternatives to PFAs by January 1, 2020, the law will ban PFAs in paper food packaging effective January 1, 2022; if the state is unable to find a safer alternative, the law will not go into effect and the Department of Ecology must annually review the availability of alternatives. When the department finds an acceptable alternative, the ban will go into effect two years later.
During negotiations for updates to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Trump administration is reportedly seeking to stop the enactment of laws mandating food labels that warn of high levels of sugar, salt and fat. Officials in Mexico and Canada are reportedly considering regulatory actions similar to those in Chile, which approved requirements for black-box warnings on food labels in 2016. Although public health experts reportedly praise Chile’s new rules, the United States and other countries, along with food industry trade organizations, fought the legislation before the World Trade Organization. The New York Times quoted Dr. Camila Corvalán, a nutritionist at the University of Chile who helped develop the warning labels, as saying, “The fact that the industry is freaking out is reassuring, but at the same time it’s worrying that the U.S. government is trying to defend the position of the food industry.”
