Castle Cheese Inc. President Michelle Myrter has reportedly been sentenced to three years of probation, 200 hours of community service at a food bank and a $5,000 fine for misdemeanor charges of food adulteration for selling “100% Parmesan” cheese containing high levels of substitutes, including cellulose. Following a federal investigation and a raid on company facilities, Myrter pleaded guilty to the charges in February 2016. Additional details appear in Issue 596 of this Update. See Bloomberg, October 11, 2016. Issue 619
Tag Archives cheese
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has consolidated several putative class actions against a number of companies alleging they labeled their grated-parmesan products as “100% Parmesan” despite containing cellulose. In re 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2705 (J.P.M.L., transfer order entered June 2, 2016). The consolidated cases include 16 lawsuits and 33 potential tag-along actions filed against Kraft, Target, Albertsons and others in jurisdictions across the country. The parties petitioned for centralization in the federal courts of Missouri, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and other states, but the court chose the Northern District of Illinois as “a convenient and accessible forum for actions filed throughout the country regarding products sold nationwide.” The parties also disputed whether the cases should be consolidated into a single multi-product MDL or separate MDLs grouped by the product or primary corporate defendant; the court held that “a single, multi-product MDL is…
The National Milk Producers Federation, International Dairy Foods Association and U.S. Dairy Export Council have authored a May 9, 2016, letter to President Barack Obama (D), asking the White House to reject proposed World Health Organization (WHO) guidance that “would discourage consumption of nutritious dairy products by young children.” Slated for presentation at the 69th World Health Assembly on May 23-28, 2016, the draft guidelines seek to end the promotion of breast-milk substitutes, including all milk and fortified soy milk, intended for consumption by children younger than age 3. Among other things, the proposal not only places restrictions on the marketing of foods for infants and young children, but also stipulates that “the messages used to promote foods for infants and young children should support optimal feeding and inappropriate messages should not be included.” The guidelines specifically preclude the indirect crosspromotion of breast-milk substitutes with other food products, as well…
Two cheese companies and an executive from a third company have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and sale of adulterated and misbranded Parmesan cheese products. The companies, Universal Cheese & Drying, Inc. and International Packing, LLC, were charged with conspiracy to introduce misbranded cheese products into interstate commerce and to commit money laundering, while Michelle Myrter, an executive at Castle Cheese Co., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting the introduction of misbranded cheese. “The Department of Justice prosecutes people and companies who introduce adulterated or misbranded food into interstate commerce,” U.S. Attorney David Hickton said in a February 26, 2016, press release. “In this case, the fraud was perpetrated on consumers who purchased Parmesan and Romano cheeses that were inferior to what they believed they were buying.” Additional details about the Castle case and the ensuing media attention about the cellulose content in…
A New York federal court has dismissed a putative class action alleging Whole Foods Market Group overcharged its customers for some prepackaged foods, finding that the plaintiffs failed to specify any particular transactions in which the grocer overcharged them. In re Whole Foods Mkt. Grp., Inc. Overcharging Litig., No. 15-5838 (S.D.N.Y., order entered March 1, 2016). The complaint was filed after the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) announced the results of its investigation into “systemic overcharging” at Whole Foods stores across the city. The plaintiffs alleged that they “regularly purchased”—“one or two times per month”—pre-packaged products from Whole Foods that the DCA identified in its press release, including cheese, cupcakes and chicken fingers. The court took issue with the plaintiffs’ reliance on the DCA press release, finding that its “statements fall very far short of reporting an investigative finding of ubiquitous, systematic over-weighting at Whole Foods’ New…
A consumer has filed a lawsuit against Kraft Heinz Foods Co. alleging the company sells its grated Parmesan as “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” despite containing “significant amounts of adulterants and fillers,” including cellulose, or “wood pulp.” Lewin v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co., No. 16-0823 (N.D. Cal., filed February 18, 2016). The lawsuit comes in the wake of a Bloomberg Business article investigating the content of several leading companies’ grated-Parmesan products. The plaintiff alleges that the 3.8 percent of the product composed of cellulose precludes Kraft from labeling its cheese as “100% Grated Parmesan.” For allegations of misrepresentation, fraud and violations of California’s consumer-protection statutes, the plaintiff seeks class certification, damages and an injunction. For its investigation, Bloomberg hired a laboratory to test grated-Parmesan products for levels of cellulose, an additive often described as “wood pulp” approved for use in food in amounts up to 4 percent. The tests apparently found higher…
A Delaware cheese company and two individual defendants have pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for distributing adulterated ricotta, queso fresco and fresh cheese curds in several neighboring states. U.S. v. Roos Foods, Inc., No. 16-0013 (D. Del., information filed January 22, 2016). Roos’ cheese was connected to a 2014 outbreak of Listeria that caused five adults and three newborns to contract listeriosis. The criminal information alleged the company produced the cheese in unsanitary conditions, including the “[f]ailure to clean food-contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against contamination of food” and “failure to store raw materials or ingredients in a manner that protects against contamination.” In their agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the defendants agreed to an injunction preventing them from processing or distributing food products until they undergo an FDA inspection and facility testing by…
A Delaware cheese company and two individual defendants have pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for distributing adulterated ricotta, queso fresco and fresh cheese curds in several neighboring states. U.S. v. Roos Foods, Inc., No. 16-0013 (D. Del., information filed January 22, 2016). Roos’ cheese was connected to a 2014 outbreak of Listeria that caused five adults and three newborns to contract listeriosis. The criminal information alleged the company produced the cheese in unsanitary conditions, including the “[f]ailure to clean food-contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against contamination of food” and “failure to store raw materials or ingredients in a manner that protects against contamination.” In their agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the defendants agreed to an injunction preventing them from processing or distributing food products until they undergo an FDA inspection and facility testing by…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended from February 16 to February 22, 2016, the comment period regarding requirements for fermented and hydrolyzed foods or those containing fermented or hydrolyzed ingredients that carry the “gluten-free” claim. The proposed rule would apply to foods such as sauerkraut, yogurt, pickles, cheese, green olives, vinegar, and FDA-regulated beers. Intended to address the uncertainty of interpreting test methods in terms of intact gluten, the finalized rule would mandate manufacturers to maintain records demonstrating: (i) “the food meets the requirements of the gluten-free labeling final rule prior to fermentation or hydrolysis”; (ii) “the manufacturer has adequately evaluated its process for any potential gluten cross-contact”; and (iii) “where a potential for gluten cross-contact has been identified, the manufacturer has implemented measures to prevent the introduction of gluten into the food during the manufacturing process.” The agency also intends to evaluate the compliance of distilled…
The National Advertising Division (NAD), an arm of the advertising industry's self-regulation system, has concluded Saputo Cheese, USA, Inc. can support its claims that its string cheese is "natural" and "low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese" despite challenger Lactalis American Group’s argument that Saputo’s products contain artificial phosphate and fillers. Lactalis argued Saputo's products do not comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) standard of identity for "low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese" and the products could not be "natural" as their packaging asserts because of the addition of phosphate. Saputo argued phosphate occurs naturally in cheese and the existence of phosphate did not necessarily prove the company added synthetic phosphate. In its determination, NAD acknowledged that it did not have the authority to deem something "misbranded" under FDA's regulations but noted that the products seemed to fit the standard of "low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese" because they contain 30 to 45 percent…
