The European Union’s (EU’s) Court of Justice has determined that the law requires fresh poultry meat to satisfy the microbiological criteria for foodstuffs and that national law may impose a penalty on “a food business operator which is active only at the distribution stage” for placing a contaminated food product on the market. Reindl v. Bezirkshauptmannschaft Innsbruck, No. C-443/13 (E.C.J., decided November 13, 2014). The issue arose from an Austrian proceeding involving a fine imposed on a food retail manager after a sample from her store of vacuum-packed fresh turkey breast produced and packed by another company was found to be contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium. The Unabhāngiger Verwaltungssenat in Tirol stayed the proceeding and referred to the EU court the questions whether (i) food business operators “active at the food distribution stage” are subject to the full regime under Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005, and (ii) the microbiological criterion in the…
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Whole Foods Market Inc. is the target of two new putative nationwide class actions, one filed in a Texas federal court regarding the amount of sugar in the company’s plain Greek yogurt and the other filed in a California state court over alleged false advertising and sales of Blue Diamond almond milk products with a “Non-GMO Project Verified” label. Kubick v. Whole Foods Mkt., Inc., No. 14-1013 (W.D. Tex., filed November 10, 2014); Richard v. Whole Foods Mkt. Cal., Inc., No. BC563304 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed November 7, 2014). The Texas complaint alleges that Whole Foods 365 Everyday Plain Greek Yogurt represents that it contains 2 grams of sugar per serving, when testing shows that it actually contains more than 11 grams of sugar per serving, or “more than five and a half times the labeled amount.” According to the plaintiff, a California resident, this is particularly significant because…
An Arizona federal court has preliminarily approved a settlement in a lawsuit alleging that Bashas’ Inc. paid Hispanic workers less than comparable non-Hispanic workers from 1998 to 2007 in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Parra v. Bashas’ Inc., No. 2-591 (D. Ariz., order entered October 21, 2014). The plaintiffs were employees at Bashas’ Inc.’s Food City stores, which cater mostly to Hispanic customers and whose staff was about 75 percent Hispanic. They alleged that they were paid on a lower pay scale than the mostly white employees at Bashas’ Inc.’s A.J. Fine Foods and Bashas’ stores. According to the plaintiffs, Bashas’ Inc.’s president personally set the pay scale each year, and an experienced Food City store clerk was allegedly paid $0.82 per hour less than a comparable Bashas’ store clerk in 1999—amounting to a loss of about $1,640 per year for a full-time employee. Under…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has released a report claiming that candy, energy bars, chips, and cookies constitute 90 percent of foods marketed in store checkout lanes, while sugar-sweetened beverages constitute 60 percent of the beverage options. According to the study, which examined 30 retailers in the Washington, D.C., area, 86 percent of non-grocery retailers displayed foods and/or beverages in checkout aisles, but only one food store abstained from marketing foods or beverages at the point of sale. In addition, the one retailer with a designated “family-friendly” aisle still marketed allegedly unhealthy foods and beverages in amounts and percentages similar to those found in regular checkout lanes. Arguing that such practices promote obesity, the consumer watchdog is urging retailers to set “nutrition standards for their checkout offerings” by limiting the amount of calories, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and sodium in food and beverage options. “In…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit in North Carolina federal court against Food Lion alleging that the grocery retailer fired an employee because he was unavailable to work on Thursday evenings and Sundays, when he attended Jehovah’s Witness services as a minister and elder. EEOC v. Food Lion LLC, No. 14-708 (U.S. Dist. Ct., M.D.N.C., filed August 20, 2014). According to the complaint, a Food Lion manager hired the employee with knowledge and acceptance of his scheduling restrictions, but after the employee was assigned to a different store location, a second manager insisted on scheduling him on days that he attended religious services. When the employee chose to attend services over working his scheduled shift, he was fired. EEOC alleged that Food Lion’s employment practices violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and…
Whole Foods Market has begun selling rabbit meat at select stores nationwide, and rabbit advocacy groups have planned protests in response. In a May 2014 press release, Whole Foods announced its plan to sell rabbit meat raised according to its animal-welfare standards, including the requirements that the rabbits have “continuous access to drinking water, feed, roughage, gnawing blocks, tunnels and places for seclusion” as well as treatment for injuries. Unsatisfied, the House Rabbit Society has planned a day of action for August 17, 2014, encouraging participants to “politely talk to Whole Foods customers about the company’s decision to sell rabbit meat” with the goal of generating comment cards critical of the new policy. Whole Foods said it introduced rabbit meat in response to customer demand, and a spokesperson told Huffington Post that it is “sensitive to the companion animal issue.” Considering the rise in popularity of rabbit meat at restaurants,…
Echoing a putative class action filed in Massachusetts federal court on August 1, 2014, a plaintiff has filed a lawsuit against Whole Foods Market in Pennsylvania state court accusing the retailer of mislabeling its 365 Everyday Value yogurt’s sugar content as 2 grams despite containing 11.4 grams, according to test results published in the July issue of Consumer Reports. Clemente v. Whole Foods Market Inc., No. 140801271 (Ct. of C.P. of Pa., Philadelphia Cty., filed August 11, 2014). The plaintiffs accuse Whole Foods of knowingly mislabeling its yogurt, citing a statement on the Whole Foods website that allegedly reads, “Our Private Label registered dietician reviews each nutrition label for accuracy and completeness before the label is printed. All attempts are made to review nutrition labels on a regular basis to ensure accuracy.” In the complaint, the plaintiffs argue, “Unless this statement on Defendant’s website is false, then Whole Foods Market was…
Following similar decisions from courts across the country, two California federal courts have delayed final rulings in cases accusing Kashi and Trader Joe’s of mislabeling their products by using the term “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) in their ingredient lists rather than simply “sugar,” which the plaintiffs allege is the same substance. Gitson v. Trader Joe’s Co., No. 13-1333 (N.D. Cal., order entered August 7, 2014); Saubers v. Kashi Co., No. 13-899 (S.D. Cal., order entered August 11, 2014). In the proposed class action against Kashi, the plaintiffs accused the Kellogg-owned company of “misbranding” more than 75 different food products by listing ECJ instead of sugar on its labels to conceal its inclusion in the foods. The court found that the plaintiffs’ claims relied “heavily, if not entirely, on the premise that the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] has concluded that ‘evaporated cane juice’ is not the common or usual name…
A plaintiff has alleged in Massachusetts federal court that Whole Foods Market mislabels its 365 Everyday Value Plain Greek Yogurt as containing 2 grams of sugar per serving despite Consumer Reports tests showing that a serving of the product contains an average of more than 11 grams of sugar. Knox v. Whole Foods Market, No. 14-13185 (U.S. Dist. Ct., D. Mass., filed Aug. 1, 2014). According to the complaint, the plaintiff learned about the alleged labeling discrepancy from Consumer Reports magazine, which tested six samples of 365 Everyday Value Plain Greek Yogurt and apparently found the average sugar content to be nearly six times the amount listed on the label. Whole Foods reportedly responded to the magazine’s findings by asserting that it relied on testing results from reputable third-party labs. The plaintiff alleges breach of warranty, unjust enrichment and negligence, and he seeks class certification, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed complaints challenging print and TV advertisements that tout Tesco-brand milk as fairly priced and responsibly sourced. In particular, the complaints alleged that (i) “the image of cows in an open field did not accurately represent how the milk was produced or the conditions in which the cows lived” and (ii) only a small proportion of Tesco’s milk was sourced through the Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group (TSDG). According to ASA, Tesco countered that all of its core milk suppliers must meet industry Red Tractor standards as well as Tesco’s own Livestock Code of Practice, which focuses on food safety, environmental indicators and “welfare outcome measures such as lameness, mastitis, fertility, and animal health.” The retailer also reiterated that core farmers with TSDG “supplied approximately 80% of Tesco’s total milk requirements over the course of the year,” while seasonal farmers provided additional milk during…
