Finding no clear state precedent, a federal court in Ohio has certified to the state supreme court a question arising in a case involving insurance coverage for Listeria-contaminated meats that led to the destruction of 1 million pounds of meat products in 2006. HoneyBaked Foods, Inc. v. Affiliated FM Ins. Co., No. 08-1686 (N.D. Ohio, order entered March 3, 2011). The question certified is as follows: In light of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s opinion in Anderson v. Highland House Co., 93 Ohio St. 3d 547 (2001), does the reasonable-expectations doctrine apply to a commercial general liability “all-risk” insurance policy, so that coverage, which otherwise would be excluded under the terms and conditions of the policy, is afforded, provided the trier of fact determines that the insured reasonably expected, when purchasing the policy, that the policy would cover the loss at issue. HoneyBaked Foods claimed a loss of approximately $8 million under…
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Iowa Representative Annette Sweeney (R-Alden) has introduced a bill (H.F. 431) that would make it illegal to gain employment under false pretenses on farms or slaughterhouse processing facilities and then produce and distribute undercover videos. The Iowa Senate is reportedly expected to consider similar legislation. Defined in the bill as “animal facility interference,” shooting undercover videos at slaughterhouses would be considered anywhere from an aggravated misdemeanor up to a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and fined as much as $7,500. Similar penalties would apply to “animal facility fraud,” which would occur when a person is convicted of willfully obtaining “access to an animal facility by false pretenses for the purpose of committing an act not authorized by the owner of the animal facility” or “makes a false statement or representation as part of an application to be employed at the animal facility, if the…
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has reportedly requested information from China concerning the country’s use of steroids in raising cattle after some athletes blamed tainted beef for their positive drug tests. Noting that he is awaiting a response from the Chinese minister for a “full explanation of what happens in the industry,” WADA director general David Howman said, “there seems to be some evidence that some beef in China may have been stimulated in their growth by the use of steroids.” A WADA-accredited lab in Cologne, Germany, apparently discovered that 22 of 28 returning travelers from China tested positive for low levels of agency-banned clenbuterol, a livestock-bulking substance that builds muscle and burns fat. In related developments, the Spanish cycling federation recently cleared the Tour de France champion who had blamed his positive clenbuterol test on contaminated meat from Spain, and a German table tennis player was cleared after blaming…
The U.K. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has issued a February 25, 2011, Health and Iron Report recommending that the general population eat no more than 500 grams of red and processed meat per week, or 70 grams per day. At the request of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy, which in 1998 linked red and processed meat to colorectal cancer risk, SACN undertook “a comprehensive review of the role of iron in human nutrition,” including “potential adverse effects both of iron deficiency and of iron excess.” It ultimately concurred with the earlier findings that “high consumers of red and processed meat should consider reducing their intakes because of possible links with a risk of colorectal cancer.” SACN particularly noted that adults consuming more than 90 grams of red and processed meat per day “should consider reducing their intakes” to reflect the population average of…
The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that it is commissioning research aimed at modernizing official controls on meat. Noting that “the driving force” behind the Future Meat Controls Research Programme is to “improve public health by adopting a more risk- and evidence-based approach to meat production,” FSA said four areas of research will be part of the evidence to support regulatory change. Areas of research needed are (i) “an evaluation of food chain information, and collection and communication of inspection results for all species”; (ii) “trialling the visual inspection for fatting pigs from non-controlled housing conditions”; (iii) “a qualitative risk assessment of visual inspection of red meat and farmed/wild large game (all ages and species other than swine)”; and (iv) “trialling the use of a plant inspection assistant in approved game handling establishments (small and large wild game).” FSA requests proposals by April 6, 2011.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) have reportedly filed amicus briefs with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, supporting the efforts of counsel for Sholom Rubashkin to overturn his conviction and sentence for financial fraud at his Iowa meat processing facility. The kosher plant was raided in 2008, 389 undocumented workers were arrested, and Rubashkin was initially charged with violating immigration laws. These charges were ultimately dropped, and a jury acquitted him of hiring underage workers. Prosecutors then aggressively pursued charges that he falsified bank records to inflate sales and diverted customer payments for personal use, and he was found guilty on 86 counts in November 2009. The court sentenced Rubashkin to 27 years in prison, a term longer than recommended by prosecutors. While the ACLU and NACDL reportedly focus their briefs on accusations that the sentencing court improperly cooperated with prosecutors…
Seeking additional input before ruling on a certiorari petition, the U.S. Supreme Court has asked the acting solicitor general to provide the U.S. government’s view of a challenge to a California law that prohibits slaughterhouses from receiving, processing or selling nonambulatory animals and prohibits dragging or pushing downer animals. Nat’l Meat Ass’n v. Harris, No. 10-224 (U.S., request filed January 18, 2011). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the state to enforce the law, finding that it is not preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Additional details about the Ninth Circuit’s ruling appear in Issue 344 of this Update. California adopted the law after The Humane Society’s video of the mistreatment of downer cattle at a slaughterhouse became public and led to a massive beef recall in 2008.
A recent study has reportedly suggested that women who consume more than 3.6 ounces of red meat daily had a 42-percent risk of cerebral infarction compared to those who ate less than 1 ounce. Susanna C. Larsso, et al., “Red Meat Consumption and Risk of Stroke in Swedish Women,” Stroke, December 2010. Swedish researchers evidently examined data from 34,670 women ages 39 to 73, finding that over 10 years, participants in the top quintile for red meat consumption were at a 22-percent increased risk of cerebral infarction over the bottom quintile. In addition, women who reported eating at least 1.5 ounces of processed meat per day had 24-percent greater risk than those who ate less than half an ounce. The study’s authors, however, did not draw any conclusions about other types of stroke, nor did they find increased risks related to fresh meat and poultry consumption. Red and processed meat…
According to a news source, a small claims court in California has exonerated two seafood restaurant supervisors for alleged negligence in the case of the exploding escargot. More details about the case appear in Issue 373 of this Update. In a two-page ruling, the court apparently determined, “There was absolutely no evidence whatsoever on what caused the escargot to spontaneously splatter grease upon being touched by the plaintiffs. There was no evidence that Seafood Peddler did not exercise reasonable care in the preparation or service of the escargot.” The court also opined that diners should have a “reasonable expectation” of injury “due to hot grease in orders of escargot which are prepared and served with ‘hot garlic butter.’” Pleased with the ruling, the restaurant’s owner reportedly noted that orders for escargot have surged since news about the lawsuit became public. See Marin Independent Journal, December 15, 2010. The Third Circuit Court…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a final rule requiring mandatory nutrition labeling on 40 major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 requires nutrition facts labels on most foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but USDA-regulated meat and poultry has been exempt, allowing producers to supply the information on a voluntary basis. Effective January 1, 2012, the rule calls for packages of ground or chopped meat and poultry to feature nutrition fact panels on their labels, and whole, raw cuts of meat and poultry to either include facts panels on their package labels or have them available for consumers at the point-of-purchase. Designed to educate consumers about nutrition and diets, the rule requires the labels to supply the number of calories and the grams of total fat and saturated fat. “Additionally, any product that lists a…
