A South Carolina-based family farming operation has filed a complaint seeking damages that it alleges were sustained in 2008 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a nationwide recall of round tomatoes due to a purported Salmonella outbreak. Seaside Farm, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-1199 (D.S.C., filed May 18, 2011). The plaintiff claims that independent audits before the recall was announced verified that its produce and practices were safe. Still, according to the complaint, “At the time of the recall, the FDA had not positively identified a single tomato as a current source of the salmonella outbreak in the United States” and “The FDA never identified any contaminated tomatoes and ultimately conceded that tomatoes were not the source of the salmonella contamination.” Claiming that the recall “decimated the market price for fresh tomatoes,” the plaintiff seeks unspecified general and special compensatory damages and interest under the Federal Tort Claims Act.…
Category Archives U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
A federal court in the District of Columbia has issued an order granting preliminary approval of a settlement agreement involving a class of African-American farmers who “submitted late-filing requests under Section 5(g) of the Pigford v. Glickman Consent Decree on or after October 13, 1999, and on or before June 18, 2008,” but had not yet obtained a determination on the merits of their discrimination complaints. In re: Black Farmers Discrimination Litig., No. 08-0511 (D.D.C., filed May 13, 2011). The order certifies the class and sets a “cost cap” of $35 million with payment of up to $3.5 million for class counsel fees and costs. Class members are enjoined from bringing any other claims arising out of section 14012 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. These lawsuits alleged that the U.S. Department of Agriculture systematically discriminated against African-American farmers on the basis of race. The court has scheduled…
The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Food and Nutrition Board has announced a June 7, 2011, meeting that will focus on the safety of imported foods “with the purposed of engaging science, technology, and policy personnel representing the global food supply chain, government agencies, and academia.” Titled “Food Forum Meeting on Supply Chain and Policy/Regulatory Approaches to Import Safety,” the meeting will include a morning panel featuring actors representing the supply chain “from producer to retailer/food service provider” and an afternoon panel of government officials representing “governance processes from the state to global level.” By focusing on the Food and Drug Administration’s new authority granted under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), including “importer accountability, third party certification, certification for high risk foods, voluntary qualified importer program, and authority to deny entry,” the meeting aims to “provide perspectives and ideas useful for the development and implementation of the multifaceted import tools available…
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report criticizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) oversight of imported seafood safety. Noting that about one-half of imported seafood comes from fish farms that may use antibiotics to prevent bacterial infections, the report claims that “residues of some drugs can cause cancer and antibiotic resistance.” Titled “FDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Imported Seafood and Better Leverage Limited Resources,” the report urges FDA to enhance its import sampling program. “FDA’s oversight program to ensure the safety of imported seafood from residues of unapproved drugs is limited, especially as compared with the European Union,” the report states, adding that FDA inspectors “generally do not visit the farms to evaluate drug use or the capabilities, competence, and quality control of laboratories that analyze the seafood.” The report also recommends that FDA (i) “study the feasibility of adopting practices used by other entities to…
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to clarify its authority to regulate foods that contain additives, such as baked goods that contain high doses of melatonin,” after media reports drew attention to so-called “relaxation brownies” touted for allegedly alleviating stress and easing sleep deprivation. In a May 18, 2011, letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Durbin argues that melatonin-laced sweets “with names such as Lazy Cakes, Kush Cakes and Lulla Pies” could raise health concerns for consumers who “may not recognize they are consuming a neurohormone, that they should consult a doctor before eating it, and that it may not be appropriate for children, people with auto-immune diseases, or women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.” He notes that these products contain “roughly 8 milligrams of melatonin—almost double the upper limit of a typical dose” set by the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, which advises…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Tennessee-based companies that process food products and ingredients, such as spices, spice blends, herbs, and sauces, claiming they have repeatedly violated the law by selling adulterated foods. United States v. Am. Mercantile Corp., No. 11-02371 (W.D. Tenn., filed May 11, 2011). According to the complaint, the foods are adulterated because “they have been prepared, packed, and held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth.” An array of insects and insect and rodent excreta were allegedly observed on a number of occasions at defendants’ facilities, and repeat visits by inspectors showed that the cited violations had not been corrected. Other problems included spilled food, unsatisfactory cleaning, gaps in the building exterior, and expired products. FDA seeks to permanently enjoin the defendants from “introducing or delivering for introduction into interstate commerce any article of food…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced two public meetings on a proposed rule requiring mandatory FSIS inspections of imported and domestic catfish and catfish products. The meetings will be held May 24 in Washington, D.C., and May 26 in Stoneville, Mississippi. The proposed rule was highlighted in Issue 383 of this Update. See Federal Register, May 9, 2011.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has evidently declined to revisit a final rule published February 17, 2010, that dealt with access to pasture requirements for livestock. In addition to establishing “a pasture practice standard for ruminant animals,” the rule established conditions for organic slaughter stock at “finish feeding” operations, where cattle is typically fed grain crops to improve the grade of beef. In particular, NOP exempted these animals from a provision requiring organically raised ruminants to derive “not less than an average of 30 percent of their dry matter intake (DMI) requirement” from grazing. The agency then solicited comments addressing (i) whether NOP should consider infrastructural and regional differences in finish feeding operations; (ii) the length of the finishing period; and (iii) the use of feedlots for finishing organic slaughter stock. Based on the 500 individual and 14,000 form letters received in response to this request,…
The Department of Justice recently took action against seafood producers in Wisconsin and Alabama for products that were either processed in plants lacking Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans or misbranded. In Wisconsin, a U.S. attorney filed a complaint to seize a variety of breaded seafood products in the possession of Soderholm Wholesale Foods, Inc. and Fellerson, Inc. and sold under the “Seaside” label. United States v. “Seaside” Breaded Cod Fillets, No. 11-277 (W.D. Wis., filed April 18, 2011). According to the complaint, these products are adulterated “in that they have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” Investigations in 2010 allegedly revealed that the companies did not have a written HACCP plan and failed to adopt one after warning. Meanwhile, seafood wholesalers Karen Blyth and David Phelps have reportedly been sentenced in an Alabama federal court to 33…
Attorneys general (AGs) from 23 states and Guam have submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its proposed collection of information from alcohol advertisers. The information relates to “compliance with voluntary advertising placement provisions, sales and marketing expenditures, the status of third-party review of complaints regarding compliance with voluntary advertising codes, and alcohol industry data collection practices.” Agreeing that the information collection is in the public interest, the AGs recommend that FTC “seek advertising and promotional expenditure data on an ongoing and regular basis, not just intermittently.” They also urge FTC “to encourage the alcohol industry to move to a standard limiting advertising to media where no more than 15% of the audience is between the ages of 12 and 20.” The April 26, 2011, comment further calls for FTC to “include a brand analysis in its coming report,” noting that these beverages are marketed by…
