The attorneys general of 21 states have filed a petition for reconsideration for a citizen petition denied May 2, 2022, that urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "to adopt a series of interim guidance measures intended to complement the long-term approach of the Closer to Zero Plan," which aims to reduce the amount of contaminants in baby foods. The attorneys general sought interim guidance to (i) set action levels for inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury; (ii) set an action level for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal that is lower than the existing action level of 100 parts per billion; and (iii) issue guidance to industry that testing for heavy metals is a "preventive control" manufacturers should perform. The reconsideration petition takes issue with multiple points in the denial, including the argument that FDA did not consider relevant information as to its own authority. The attorneys general…
An Illinois federal court has granted Kellogg Sales Co.'s motion to dismiss a consumer's putative class action complaint alleging that Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts lacked the milkfat (milk and butter) necessary for a product to be described as fudge. Reinitz v. Kellogg Sales Co., No. 21-1239 (C.D. Ill., entered June 2, 2022). As evidence for the claim, the plaintiff provided a book by Molly Mills, who was described as "one of today's leading authorities on fudge"; Kellogg argued that Mills' book, which contains 40 recipes for fudge, included multiple recipes that do not contain milkfat. "Plaintiff fails to support that the average consumer would believe a fudge product must, of necessity, contain milkfat," the court found. Comparing a similar case dismissed when the plaintiff could not show that a reasonable consumer would be misled by the strawberry designation on the Pop-Tart label, the court dismissed the complaint but granted leave to…
Beyond Meat Inc., producer of plant-based meat substitute products, has been hit with two lawsuits in the same week—one filed by a competitor and another filed by a group of consumers. Roberts v. Beyond Meat Inc., No. 22-2861 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., filed May 31, 2022); Don Lee Farms v. Beyond Meat Inc., No. 22-3751 (C.D. Cal., filed June 2, 2022). The complaints make similar allegations, asserting that Beyond Meat "miscalculates and overstates the Products' protein content" as well as the quality of the protein. "Beyond Meat goes the extra mile to represent that the Products are the 'future of protein' and claims that eating the Products allows consumers to get high-quality protein in their diet while simultaneously helping the environment," the consumer complaint argues. Both complaints describe the process of testing Beyond Meat's products to ascertain the protein content of the products, allegedly finding that most of the products contained…
Chambers and Partners has listed Shook's Food, Beverage and Agribusiness Practice as Band 4 in its USA - Nationwide rankings. According to Chambers, "The Shook, Hardy & Bacon team is respected for its representation of companies in the food and agribusiness space, including manufacturers and distributors of feed additives and animal food. The group counsels clients in a range of issues, including product labeling, marketing, product safety and regulatory compliance." One person who provided feedback for Chambers' research reportedly stated, "The team is excellent, they are very responsive." Shook's other Chambers rankings included a Band 1 designation for Product Liability & Mass Torts and a Band 2 listing for Product Liability: Consumer Class Actions.
Two consumers have filed a putative class action alleging Gorton's Inc. has misled consumers about the environmental impact of the fish it sells. Spindel v. Gorton's Inc., No. 22-10599 (D. Mass., filed April 21, 2022). "Gorton's claims about sustainability lead consumers to believe that the Products are 'sustainably sourced.' Consumer research demonstrates that claims like Gorton's suggest to consumers that the tilapia is sustainably sourced in accordance with high environmental and animal welfare standards," the complaint argues. "In reality, the Products are made from tilapia who are industrially farmed using unsustainable practices that are environmentally destructive and inhumane." The plaintiffs argue that Gorton's sources its tilapia from farms in China using pond aquaculture, "a particularly risky form of fish farming because, among other problems, this method is typically done in regions where tilapia ponds are 'vulnerable to river flooding events,'" creating the risk of releasing the "highly invasive" tilapia into local…
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has given final approval to a $7.5 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that Godiva Chocolatier Inc.'s packaging misled consumers into believing all of its chocolate was produced in Belgium. Hesse v. Godiva Chocolatier Inc., No. 19-0972 (S.D.N.Y., order entered April 20, 2022). The approval dismisses concerns raised by the attorneys general of six states arguing that elements of the settlement were too favorable to Godiva. Their concerns included a $25 cap on claims with proof of purchase as well as a lack of notice about the settlement on Godiva's website, but the court found the cap to be reasonable and noted that Godiva sent 8.2 million initial emails and 7.7 million reminder emails to customers to provide notice of the settlement.
Politico has published a report on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on more than 50 interviews with current and former employees of the agency, including former FDA commissioners. "There is a remarkable level of consensus that the agency is simply not working," states the report. "Current and former officials and industry professionals used terms like 'ridiculous,' 'impossible,' 'broken,' 'byzantine' and 'a joke' to describe the state of food regulation at FDA." Subjects examined by the investigation include leadership issues within the food division of the agency, a lack of action on foodborne illnesses, the issue of heavy metals in baby food and delays on nutrition targets. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sent a letter to Commissioner Robert Califf expressing concern over the findings of Politico's investigation. "This report highlighted several delays in regulatory action that have endangered the public health. Over a decade after the Food Safety Modernization…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance on how it will evaluate the public health importance of a food allergen not listed as a major food allergen. Topics in the guidance include (i) scientific factors FDA will consider; (ii) what types of information will be relevant to the labeling and production of food containing the allergen; and (iii) recommendations for identifying and analyzing evidence for the evaluation of a non-listed food allergen.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting a preliminary injunction blocking a requirement to warn California consumers about the presence of acrylamide in food and beverage products. Cal. Chamber of Com. v. Council for Education and Research on Toxics, No. 19-2019 (9th Cir., entered March 17, 2022). Filed by the California Chamber of Commerce, the suit alleges that requiring the warning for products containing chemicals listed under the state's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65) on products with acrylamide would violate the organization's members' "First Amendment rights to not be compelled to place false and misleading acrylamide warnings on their food products." The district court held that the state did not show the Prop. 65 acrylamide warning was "purely factual and uncontroversial." "[D]ozens of epidemiological studies have failed to tie human cancer to…
An Illinois federal court has dismissed a lawsuit alleging Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc. misled consumers by describing its ice cream bars as coated in milk chocolate when the chocolate contained coconut oil. Zurliene v. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc., No. 21-0747 (S.D. Ill., entered March 17, 2022). The complaint, brought under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, asserted that the Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars' label confused the plaintiff because she understood the term "milk chocolate" to describe "a product made from the cacao bean without chocolate substitutes, such as coconut oil." The claim "is preempted by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)," the court held. "The FDCA prohibits states from 'directly or indirectly establish[ing] under any authority . . . any requirement for a food which is the subject of a standard of identity . . . that is not identical to such standard identity or…
