Settlement in Pepsi 4-MEI Suit Preliminarily Approved

A California federal court has granted preliminary approval for a
settlement agreement in a lawsuit alleging PepsiCo products contain
levels of 4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI) exceeding the legally permissible
amount under the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement
Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). Sciortino v. PepsiCo Inc., No. 14-0478 (N.D. Cal.,
order entered June 28, 2016).

Under the settlement, PepsiCo has agreed “to require its caramel
coloring suppliers to meet certain 4-MeI levels in products shipped for
sale in the United States, ensuring the 4-MeI concentration levels will
not exceed the level of 100 parts per billion, and to test the covered
products pursuant to an agreed protocol.” The court noted that the
injunctive relief is the same as the agreement in an action brought
by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) alleging similar facts.
“However, the Settlement Agreement will ‘enhance the CEH settlement
by: (1) expanding the geographic scope of the stipulated injunction from
California to nationwide; (2) increasing the duration of the injunctive
relief from three years to five years,’” the court stated. Further details
about the case appear in Issue 568 of this Update, while addition
information on CEH’s lawsuit appears in Issues 427 and 579.

Issue 610