A company that sells a variety of seafood spreads has sued one of its packers, which allegedly added undeclared eggs to the company’s smoked salmon spread. Sau-Sea Foods, Inc. v. Lukas Foods, Inc., No. 11-00104 (D. Me., filed March 23, 2011). The plaintiff apparently learned about the problem after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the defendant’s facility and discovered that eggs had been used in the spread, thus “posing a potential health hazard.” A recall was immediately undertaken and widely reported in the media. Thereafter, FDA allegedly informed the plaintiff that its salmon spread “posed an acute, life-threatening hazard to health” and designated the recall as Class I. Alleging breach of contract, breach of express and implied warranties, negligence, unjust enrichment, breach of implied contract, and negligent misrepresentation, Sau-Sea Foods seeks damages, interest, costs, and attorney’s fees. While the company alleges damages exceeding the $75,000 jurisdictional minimum, it…
Tag Archives allergen
Leaders of Edgewater Elementary School in Edgewater, Florida, are reportedly planning to meet with parents disgruntled over the school’s accommodation of a 6-year-old girl with severe peanut allergies. Noting that the girl’s allergies are life-threatening and considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Volusia County School District spokesperson Nancy Wait said the meeting will help dispel inaccurate rumors that other students’ mouths were being wiped with disinfectant to protect the first-grader’s health. Wait said the girl’s fellow classmates are required to wash their hands before entering the classroom in the morning and after lunch, and rinse their mouths. A peanut-sniffing dog has also apparently visited the school. In answer to some parents’ suggestion that the girl be removed from the classroom and homeschooled, Wait said that was not an option because it violated the federal law. See MSNBC.com, March 22, 2011.
A federal court in California recently dismissed with prejudice a claim against a school district and some of its personnel filed by the parents of a child with an allergy to nuts; they alleged that the defendants threatened harm to the child by refusing to keep him in a nut free environment, which threat was undertaken to discourage the parents from exercising a legal right, i.e., requesting accommodations for him, in violation of state law. McCue v. S. Fork Union Elementary Sch., No. 10-00233 (E.D. Cal., decided February 7, 2011). The parents also alleged harm from an unspecified person giving the child a peanut butter cookie. Because the third amended complaint did not allege all of the facts needed to state a claim under the law and because “[s]erving a child a peanut butter cookie is not an inherently violent act,” the court concluded that the complaint did not allege…
Canada Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq has announced revisions to food allergen labeling regulations with the aim of reducing the number of food recalls and adverse reactions. The revisions strengthen the requirements by adding gluten sources to the list of allergens that must be disclosed on product labels and specifying in plain terms what food makers must say about their ingredients, including “hidden” allergens, gluten sources and sulphites. According to Health Canada, the changes will take effect August 4, 2012, to allow the industry time to implement them. The agency claims that the revisions will “provide a clearer ingredient label so that consumers can better avoid foods that contain the ingredient to which they are allergic or sensitive,” and will ensure that allergens, gluten sources and sulphites “will be labelled in a systematic and consistent manner.” See Health Canada Press Release, February 14, 2011.
“People with food allergies live under a constant threat, in a society that is still poorly informed about the condition,” writes New Yorker medical correspondent Jerome Groopman about this rapidly evolving branch of immunology. His article traces the history of food allergy studies, which at first recommended restricting common allergens—milk, corn, soy, citrus, wheat, eggs, peanuts, and fish—during pregnancy, nursing and the first two years of life. In theory, according to Groopman, this measure would keep babies “away from potentially allergenic foods until their immune systems had developed sufficiently.” But the increasing number of diagnosed food allergies in the United States and other developed countries has since cast doubt on this practice, leading specialists to consider alternative causations and subsequently overturn the infant dietary advice issued in 2000 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. “From an evolutionary-biology point of view, food allergy makes no sense at all. It seems pretty clear that…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the first annual report on its Reportable Food Registry (RFR) designed to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks. Summarizing 2,240 online food safety reports from the food industry and public health officials between September 2009 and September 2010, the report “is a measure of our success in receiving early warning problems with food and feed,” states FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael Taylor in the preface. Report findings apparently show that 37.6 percent of the reported food hazards were caused by Salmonella, 34.9 percent by “undeclared allergens/intolerances” and 14.4 percent by Listeria. The report highlighted “two particularly significant issues in multiple commodity groups that require attention”: (i) Salmonella found in such products as spices and seasonings, produce, animal feed and pet food, nuts and seeds; and (ii) allergens and intolerances in fare including baked goods, fruit and vegetable products, prepared foods, dairy, and candy.…
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has published several notices pertaining to the regulation of wine and spirits. Comments on all are requested by January 3, 2011. Responding to recent action taken by the Food and Drug Administration with respect to cochineal extract and carmine, which will have to be declared on food labels because of their potential for severe allergic reactions, TTB has proposed requiring the disclosure of these ingredients on wines, distilled spirits and malt beverages. Cochineal extract and carmine are derived from an insect native to subtropical South America and Mexico. According to TTB, its proposal “would allow consumers who are allergic to cochineal extract or carmine to identify and thus avoid alcohol beverage products that contain these color additives.” TTB has also proposed amending wine labeling regulations “to allow the labeling of imported wines with multistate appellations of origin.” According to the agency, this…
A looseleaf reference book titled Products Liability: Design and Manufacturing Defects, 2d has been updated with sections considering legal issues relating to genetically modified (GM) foods. The section on “design defects in GM organisms used in food production” discusses the extensive regulatory review to which these substances are subject and notes that no known injury has yet been linked to the use of GM organisms. The section on “failure to warn of idiosyncratic reaction to GM foods” cites cases involving plaintiffs with allergies or unusual susceptibilities involving other types of products. The author adds the following observation: “The same technology that is used to create novel food will provide the tools for preventing risk. Properly managed, novel food can reduce the net incidence of food allergies, through creation of hypoallergenic varieties of common crops. This standard for ‘design’ of food may one day give rise to ‘design defect’ liability for failure…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a putative class-action lawsuit in a Connecticut court on behalf of an Arizona woman who allegedly had a severe allergic reaction from eating artificial chicken patties made with a Quorn Foods, Inc. fungus. Cardinale v. Quorn Foods, Inc., No. __ (Conn. Super. Ct., filed September 15, 2009). CSPI participated in another lawsuit raising similar allegations against the Connecticut-based company and Whole Foods Markets, Inc. in Texas, but those claims were apparently dismissed. According to CSPI, more than 1,000 consumers have contacted it to complain that eating foods containing the meat substitute, described in the complaint as “a proprietary processed, vat-grown, soil fungus, combined with flavorings, binders, and other substances,” causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, difficulty breathing, or anaphylactic reactions. A CSPI press release characterizes the product as a “fibrous, proteinaceous paste.” The named plaintiff in the Connecticut litigation purportedly…
A recent audit of food allergen labeling practices has reportedly concluded that “deficiencies and ambiguities are prevalent,” calling on federal agencies to back the “strict enforcement of labeling laws as well as additional regulation.” M.M. Pieretti, et al., “Audit of manufactured products: use of allergen advisory labels and identification of labeling ambiguities,” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, August 2009. In their review of 20,241 products, researchers identified 25 different allergen advisory terms including “may contain,” “shared equipment” and “within plant.” They also noted that “nonspecific terms, such as ‘natural flavors’ and ‘spices,’ appeared on 65 percent of products and were not linked to a specific ingredient for 83 percent of them.” The study specifically raised questions about the labeling of soy-derived lecithin and refined oils containing soy. The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires manufacturers to list “soy” as an ingredient in lecithin-containing products, but does…
