Maine has reportedly become the first state to ban single-use food and drink containers made from polystyrene. The law, which will take effect in 2021, echoes a similar bill in Maryland that has been passed by the legislature but remains unsigned by the governor. According to the Associated Press, Oregon, Vermont and Connecticut are considering polystyrene bans as well. The Florida legislature has reportedly passed a law that would prevent municipalities from regulating plastic straws until 2024. Some cities, including Miami Beach, previously passed ordinances preventing restaurants and bars from providing plastic straws or prohibiting the use of plastic straws at public parks and beaches. The bill is awaiting the governor's signature.
Tag Archives Maine
A Maine federal court has granted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a permanent injunction against Mill Stream Corp., a seafood company that allegedly failed to take measures preventing the formation and growth of Clostridium botulinum, the cause of botulism, or Listeria monocytogenes, the cause of listeriosis. U.S. v. Mill Stream Corp., No. 16-0080 (D. Me., order entered February 12, 2016). The injunction prevents the company and its employees from processing or distributing food produced at Mill Stream’s facilities or by its owner until several conditions have been satisfied, including: (i) retention of an independent laboratory to test for Listeria, (ii) development of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans by an independent expert, (iii) implementation of such plans, (iv) completion of additional employee training, and (v) approval to reopen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The failure to plan for and control the presence of bacteria and neurotoxins…
Legislation (H.B. 660) in Maine that would require food manufacturers to label products containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients is reportedly in jeopardy after New Hampshire lawmakers voted 12-8 against a similar labeling bill. Although Maine’s law passed earlier this year with broad bipartisan support, it can take effect only if five contiguous states pass similar laws. “I was not surprised,” said the New Hampshire bill’s sponsor Maureen Mann (D-Deerfield) in a news article. Evidently, while a subcommittee that spent the summer working on the bill recommended its approval, members of New Hampshire’s House Environment and Agriculture Committee expressed reservations about the measure, citing difficulties with enforcement because food labeling is a federal matter. According to sources, unlike in Maine, the vote in New Hampshire broke along party lines, with Republican committee members largely opposing it. Democrats have a 42-vote majority in the New Hampshire House, while Republicans have a two-seat…
Maine Governor Paul LePage (R) has reportedly vetoed legislation (LD 1181) that would have required food companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales to disclose their use of priority chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) to the state. According to his July 8, 2013, veto letter, LePage rejected the measure for lack of funding, writing that lawmakers failed to allocate adequate resources for the program’s administration. He also noted that the bill would have established the actions of other states as “credible scientific evidence,” “regardless of whether other states use scientific analyses to reach their conclusions,” while asking Maine agencies “once again to re-visit which chemicals are considered of ‘high concern.’” “In addition, the federal government, through potential amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act, may be exploring reasonable and consistent measures to address these concerns,” concluded LePage, who previously supported legislation designed to strengthen Maine’s Priority Chemicals…
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has reportedly indicated its support of a state ban on the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) for infant formula packaging, but stopped short of suggesting that the chemical be prohibited from baby and toddler food containers, which environmental activists have been requesting. Maine already bans the chemical from baby bottles, sippy cups and reusable food and beverage containers, but, according to news sources, DEP officials claim that the scientific evidence is limited on whether the most common baby food containers—glass jars with metal lids that contain BPA—cause children to be exposed to the chemical. Agency officials are also apparently concerned about whether rules implementing the chemical ban would be sufficiently clear for consumers and companies to follow. News sources state that DEP is expected to make a recommendation on extending the BPA ban by the end of January 2013, and that an expanded ban…
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a jury verdict tracing the source of E. coli-contaminated beef to Greater Omaha Packing Co. thus sustaining a third-party indemnification claim against it. Long v. Fairbank Reconstruction Corp. v. Greater Omaha Packing Co., No. 12-1412 (1st Cir., decided November 21, 2012). Two Maine residents sickened in the outbreak settled for $500,000 with Fairbank Reconstruction, which had purchased the meat from Greater Omaha and further processed it for sale in retail-sized packages by grocery stores. Fairbank sought indemnification from Greater Omaha, and the trial focused for the most part “on the ‘traceback’ analyses that led Fairbank’s experts to conclude that the contaminated meat could only have come from the [Greater Omaha] combos and not from another supplier’s product.” The court found that “ample evidence” supported the jury’s conclusion that Greater Omaha was the source of the E. coli contamination that sickened the two…
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has adopted the “reasonable consumer expectation” test to determine whether a boneless turkey product allegedly containing a bone was defective. Pinkham v. Cargill, Inc., No. 11-340 (Me., decided July 3, 2012). So ruling, the court vacated the lower court’s grant of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings. Plaintiff Stanley Pinkham allegedly consumed a hot turkey sandwich during his break. The defendant allegedly manufactured the boneless turkey product in the sandwich. In the middle of or immediately after eating the sandwich, Pinkham allegedly experienced severe and sudden pain in his upper abdominal area and thought that he might be having a heart attack. His physicians later determined that in their opinion he most likely had an “esophageal tear or perforation.” Pinkham sued, alleging that this was a result of bone in the boneless turkey. The defendant moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted while noting that Maine had…
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…
Plaintiffs’ lawyer William Marler has apparently filed a second lawsuit against New York-based Fairbank Farms for injury allegedly caused by consumption of E. coli-tainted ground beef. According to Marler, the suit has been filed in a Maine state court on behalf of a woman who was hospitalized for six days after consuming meat produced by Fairbank Farms. Her cultures allegedly tested positive for the same E. coli strain found in the company’s recalled meat. See Food Poison Journal, November 17, 2009. Meanwhile, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the method that meat processors and the agency use to verify that ground beef is free of the bacterium. In her November 12 letter, DeLauro discusses the Fairbank Farms outbreak and notes that the company’s facility sampled its products every 10 to 20 minutes. She states, “However, despite these precautions, it…
