Upton's Naturals Co. and the Plant Based Foods Association have filed a First Amendment challenge to Oklahoma's law requiring manufacturers of plant-based meat products to include a disclaimer on the labels of products that are named after animal-derived products, such as "burgers." Upton's Naturals Co. v. Stitt, No. 20-0938 (W.D. Okla., filed September 16, 2020). The law, scheduled to take effect November 1, 2020, prohibits advertising "a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock" but allows plant-based items to comply with the regulation if they display, "in type that is uniform and size and prominence to the name of the product," text informing consumers "that the product is derived from plant-based sources." Regulated words include "pork," "burgers," "hot dogs," "meatballs," "jerky," "sausages," "chorizo," "steak," "bacon" and "corned beef." "The Act is unreasonable, unnecessary, does not advance any legitimate government interest, and is not tailored to any legitimate…
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Oklahoma’s Board of Health has unanimously approved recommendations from the state’s Medical Marijuana Food Safety Standards Board on health and safety requirements for producing cannabis-infused foods, according to Tulsa World. The standards incorporate existing state food regulations but will add stricter criteria and tests, including testing for cannabinoid potency, heavy-metals levels and chemical residues.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has transferred five class actions related to a data breach at Sonic restaurants to the Northern District of Ohio, where the assigned court is presiding over a potential tag-along case. In re Sonic Corp. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., MDL No. 2807 (entered December 6, 2017). Sonic confirmed on September 27, 2017, that point-of-sale systems had been breached at its drive-in restaurants.
A federal court in Oklahoma has dismissed, without leave to amend, claims filed against the company that audited Jensen Farms before a 2011 Listeria outbreak sickened dozens of consumers, including the plaintiff, who allegedly contracted listeriosis from the strain linked to the farm’s cantaloupe and was hospitalized for a month. Underwood v. Jensen Farms, No. 11-348 (E.D. Okla., decided December 31, 2013). Auditor Primus Group, Inc. allegedly gave the farm a “superior” rating and 96-percent score after a July 25, 2011, audit, and the plaintiff became ill on September 2. The court determined that the plaintiff could not show that the auditor owed him a duty under Oklahoma law because “the connection between the July 25, 2011, audit and the onset of Plaintiff’s illness [was] too remote in both time and circumstance. Significantly, Plaintiff has failed to plead facts sufficient to establish that the contaminated cantaloupe would not have been…
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s decision not to enjoin Tyson Foods, Inc. from using poultry litter as fertilizer. Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No. 08-5154 (10th Cir., decided May 13, 2009). Oklahoma’s attorney general sought a preliminary injunction to halt the practice, arguing that poultry litter contains E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter and that its use in the Illinois River Watershed in Arkansas and Oklahoma caused fecal bacterial contamination of the watershed’s waterways, which are popular for water recreation and supply drinking water for local residents. Tyson responded that the bacteria come from multiple sources including wildlife, various farm animals and humans. The company also noted that the way its farmers treat poultry litter kills any bacteria and that the watershed’s bacteria levels “do not correlate to poultry farming or litter application, but rather correspond to areas of cattle farming and human activity.” The…
