A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that Cento Fine Foods Inc. misleadingly markets its tomatoes as "Certified San Marzano" without having the proper certification. Sibrian v. Cento Fine Foods Inc., No. 19-0974 (E.D.N.Y., filed February 19, 2019). San Marzano tomatoes are grown vertically with supports in San Marzano sul Sarno in Italy, the complaint asserts. Cento's San Marzano cans feature a logo for an Italian agency that "does not 'certify' that the Products are compliant with the San Marzano guidelines, and it is actually an entity which may have performed the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] Organic certification," the complaint argues. Cento's website also identifies a company that "verifies that the Products conform to the San Marzano official criteria," but the plaintiff alleges that the company "is believed to be the company which supplies defendant with San Marzano seeds and possibly certifies whether the Products are organic, as…
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb reportedly said in a February 27, 2019, hearing before the House Appropriations Committee that the agency will hold public hearings on cannabidiol (CBD) in April 2019. Gottlieb reportedly told the committee that FDA is assembling a working group of senior officials to create rules that would govern CBD in food and other uses. According to CNBC, "Gottlieb floated what a possible framework might look like. He suggested high concentrations might be regulated as a drug that has more stringent oversight while lower concentrations could be categorized as food products that come with an easier review process." Meanwhile, a New York City crackdown on CBD in food products has reportedly been postponed. Beginning in October 2019, CBS reports, violators selling CBD food may be subject to fines of $200 and risk lower public health letter grades.
Wendy's International Inc. has settled two class actions alleging injuries stemming from a 2016 payment-system breach. Jackson v. Wendy's Int'l Inc., No. 16-0210 (M.D. Fla., entered February 26, 2019); First Choice Fed. Credit Union v. Wendy's Co., No. 16-0506 (W.D. Penn., entered February 26, 2019). A Florida federal court approved a $3.4 million settlement between a consumer class and the company, including $1.1 million in attorney's fees. In Pennsylvania, a federal court granted preliminary approval to a settlement in a lawsuit brought by a class of financial institutions that reimbursed customers for fraudulent transactions. Wendy's will pay $50 million under the settlement agreement.
A consumer has alleged that Snack Innovations Inc.'s Drizzilicious rice cakes are advertised as containing white chocolate but only contain "imitation flavoring." Morrison v. Snack Innovations Inc., No. 19-1238 (S.D.N.Y., filed February 8, 2019). The complaint asserts that "white chocolate," by U.S. regulations, contains cocoa butter, dairy ingredients and sweetener, including 20 percent cocoa butter and 3.5 percent milk fat by weight. "The imitation white chocolate in the Products do not have cocoa butter or milk fat as required, and instead have other cheap confectionary ingredients to imitate the taste of white chocolate." The plaintiff alleges fraud and violations of New York consumer-protection statutes and seeks class certification, damages, corrective advertising and attorney's fees.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released "Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food," which outlines methods the agency is using to ensure that it meets its four goals: (i) ensuring that imported food meets U.S. food safety requirements; (ii) preventing the entry of unsafe foods; (iii) rapidly responding to unsafe imported foods; and (iv) maintaining an "effective and efficient food import program."
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has submitted a citizen petition urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to "[e]nforce existing 'imitation' labeling requirements against nutritionally inferior non-dairy substitutes for standardized dairy foods that are named and positioned as forms of 'milk,' 'yogurt,' 'cheese,' 'ice cream,' or 'butter,' yet fail to provide the 'imitation' disclosure statement that is required." The petition's introductory letter argues that its recommended actions "are necessary to ensure that consumers are adequately informed concerning the material differences between standardized dairy foods (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, butter) and the wide variety of non-dairy substitutes that are available in the marketplace which are identified through the misappropriation of terms that have been defined by standards of identity to identify standardized foods that meet specified compositional, nutritional, or functional requirements." The debate over dairy and non-dairy substitute labeling extends to Canada, where a creamery has reportedly…
Europol announced that it has "dismantled a sophisticated criminal network involved in counterfeiting trademarks and distinctive labels of a famous winery in Florence, Italy, as well as counterfeiting at least 11 000 bottles of red wine." The agency arrested three people, including two members of the same family, who allegedly "sold sports products online as a way to mislead consumers of their activities." According to a press release, the "modus operandi was to prepare bottles of low-quality wine and once ready, would sell them to the Italian and international markets, primarily in Belgium and Germany."
The European Court of Justice's Grand Chamber has ruled that halal beef cannot carry an EU organic logo if the cows were not stunned before they were slaughtered. Œuvre d’assistance aux bêtes d’abattoirs v. Ministre de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation, No. C-497/17 (E.C.J., entered February 26, 2019). The court compared an organic-labeling regulation requiring efforts to preserve animal welfare during the slaughtering process with a regulation allowing religious rituals during slaughter. "While it is true that [the regulation] permits the practice of ritual slaughter as part of which an animal may be killed without first being stunned, that form of slaughter, which is authorised only by way of derogation in the European Union and solely in order to ensure observance of the freedom of religion [], is insufficient to remove all of the animal’s pain, distress and suffering as effectively as slaughter with pre-stunning, which, in accordance with [the regulation],…
The Nutrition Business Journal spoke to Shook Partner Cary Silverman on the rise of lawsuits stemming from "clean labels" listed on food products. While consumers may want easier-to-read labels, this shortened language may open the door to potential lawsuits. Silverman, who co-authored the 2017 report “The Food Court: Trends in Food and Beverage Class Action Litigation,” for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, says that transparency creates skepticism. “I can only imagine the internal battles within food companies between marketing and legal,” Silverman told NBJ. “I understand why a company would want information printed transparently on the front of the package, but on the other hand, there is a reason lawyers like fine print. When you remove the fine print from a label and go with the basics, it could be a plaintiffs’ lawyer’s dream.” Silverman’s report, which was co-authored with Shook Partner Jim Muehlberger, found that 20 food-marketing class actions…
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that North Dallas Honey Co. sells its Nature Nate’s honey as “100% raw” but heats it to 120 degrees during bottling. Pierce v. N. Dallas Honey Co., No. 19-0410-B (N.D. Tex., Dallas Div., filed February 19, 2019). The plaintiff argues that heating honey to more than 105 degrees can cause “[m]ost or all of the enzymes” to be “lost” or “denatured.” The plaintiff cites the “international standard promulgated by Codex Alimentarius for honey” to argue that Nature Nate’s honey contains elevated values of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which can indicate that “the honey has been heated enough to break down the enzymes contained in the honey.” The complaint further asserts that the honey product “is also not necessarily 100% honey” because some tested samples allegedly “showed that syrups had been added to the honey.” For allegations of negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, unjust…
