For our final edition of 2017, the Food and Beverage Litigation Update is highlighting stories that have changed the industry over the Update's first 15 years. With help from our archives, we have tracked how these stories have evolved and continue to affect food and beverage companies. Thank you for joining us each week—we hope you have a happy holiday season and wonderful 2018.
Category Archives Spotlight
This week, Shook, Hardy & Bacon celebrates 15 years of the Food & Beverage Litigation Update. Our first issue, published October 9, 2002, explored a number of legislative and litigation trends—including a governmental initiative to ban soft drinks in schools, a lawsuit challenging allegedly toxic ingredients in a protein bar and a U.S. Food and Drug Administration meeting on acrylamide—that we continue to cover each week as they progress through the evolving regulatory landscape. With our 650th issue, we are excited to announce the launch of the Food & Beverage Litigation Update website. On the website, you can find all 650 issues of the Update in the Archive as well as many issues divided into individual stories that are tagged and categorized with subjects and jurisdictions for your browsing convenience. We will continue to send you a weekly compilation of our coverage, and we welcome you to follow along with…
Emerging technologies are changing the way we live, travel and buy goods and services. While new technology may improve our lives, it also brings new risks. Shook, Hardy & Bacon Partners Cary Silverman and Phil Goldberg, with Of Counsel Jonathan Wilson, have authored a report, Torts of the Future: Addressing the Liability and Regulatory Implications of Emerging Technologies, addressing the challenges of promoting innovation and economic growth while protecting consumer safety and privacy. The report, published for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, focuses on five main areas of new technology: autonomous vehicles; the commercial use of drones; private space exploration; the “sharing economy,” which allows people to generate income from underused assets such as cars and housing; and “The Internet of Things,” involving products connected to collect and share data. The authors examine current technological developments, provide an overview of existing regulatory and liability frameworks, consider current and…
Concerns about how or whether the term “healthy” should be used in food labeling and packaging prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hold a public comment meeting on the issue on March 9, 2017. Current FDA regulations allow the use of the term “healthy,” as well as similar terms, as implied nutrient-content claims. However, the criteria for use vary for different food categories, and the criteria themselves are linked to elements of the nutrition facts panel and serving size regulations—both of which have undergone significant changes in recent years. FDA also received a citizen petition in 2015 from Kind LLC, a producer and distributor of snack bars, requesting the agency amend its regulations defining the use of the term with respect to total fat intake and emphasizing whole foods and dietary patterns instead of specific nutrients. Accordingly, FDA’s 2016 publication of “Use of the Term ‘Healthy’ in…
The parties to obesity-related litigation, brought on behalf of several teenagers against fast-food giant McDonald’s Corp. in 2002, have filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice. Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp., No. 02-7821 (S.D.N.Y., stipulation filed February 25, 2011). The action followed entry of an order in December 2010 scheduling pretrial discovery and motions filing and briefing for the individual claims remaining in this putative class action. A court refused to certify the action as a class in October. Pelman was closely watched by industry and consumer advocates as it made several trips before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that ultimately narrowed the issues for trial. It was expected to be groundbreaking litigation that would allow access to industry documents which plaintiffs’ interests believed could be used to bring a flood of litigation against companies they blame for the nation’s increasing incidence of obesity. The experience of litigators opposing…
