Two livestock trade associations have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging the agency’s 2016 repeal of marking and labeling regulations violates the Meat Inspection Act and the Tariff Act. Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of Am. v. U.S. Dept of Agric., No. 17-0223 (E.D. Wash., filed June 19, 2017). The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF) and the Cattle Producers of Washington (CPW) assert that the Meat Inspection Act requires that meat from animals slaughtered outside the United States be “marked and labeled as required for imported articles” and the Tariff Act requires “conspicuous” marking “as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article." After a World Trade Organization ruling against a U.S. requirement to include country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on imports of livestock from Canada and Mexico, USDA…
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A Muslim man who alleges he was served pork pepperoni on a pizza sold as halal has filed a $100-million putative class action against Little Caesar Enterprises. Bazzi v. Little Caesar Pizza, 17-7931 (Mich. Cir. Ct. Wayne Cty., filed May 25, 2017). According to the complaint, the plaintiff ordered the pizza at a franchise location in Dearborn, Michigan, that advertises halal pizza, but although the pizza box displayed a halal sticker, the pepperoni contained pork. Alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud, the plaintiff seeks class certification, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees. Issue 636
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favor of the European Union in a dispute over Russia’s 2014 ban on the import of live pigs, fresh pork and other pig products following cases of African Swine Fever in some EU regions. The ban violated WTO rules on restricting trade based on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, the organization concluded. In an August 19, 2016, press release, the European Commission admitted that many of the products covered by the prohibition continue to be “restricted by a politically motivated ban imposed on EU agri-food products by Russia,” but noted that “the panel’s findings are of systemic importance, since they remind Russia about its international obligations and the fact that these cannot be arbitrarily ignored.” See EU Press Release, August 19, 2016. Issue 615
The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Hormel Foods challenging the company’s Natural Choice® brand of lunch meats and bacon, which it advertises as “100% Natural” and “All-Natural.” In a June 30, 2016, press release, an ALDF attorney argued that the Natural Choice® meats “come from the same pigs and the same giant, factory slaughterhouses that are used for the company’s canned Spam® products” and that the products are treated with “acid starter culture” to produce artificial preservatives. “Meat companies like Hormel have been quick to pounce on misconceptions about what ‘natural’ means,” Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells was quoted as saying in the press release. “As an organization dedicated to transparency in animal agriculture and truth in meat advertising, the Animal Legal Defense Fund is standing up to vindicate the rights of deceived consumers and to prevent Hormel from wrongfully gaining…
A lawsuit dismissed in 2013 alleging that the National Pork Board purchased the tagline “The Other White Meat” from the National Pork Producers Council for fraudulent reasons has been revived by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Humane Soc’y of the U.S. v. Vilsack, No. 13-5293 (D.C. Cir., order entered August 14, 2015). The lawsuit was initially dismissed because the plaintiffs, including the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), failed to prove that they had standing to sue. Details of the dismissal appear in Issue 499 of this Update. HSUS alleged that the board, a quasi-governmental entity, pays $3 million annually to license the trademarked phrase from the council, an industry trade group, not because the board intended to market pork with the slogan—which has not been in use since 2011—but rather because it sought to support the council’s lobbying efforts. Upon a de novo review, the appeals…
The United States has appealed the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) ruling in favor of Canada and Mexico in a dispute over U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations requiring pork and beef products originating outside the United States to carry labels specifying their sources. The appeal notification circulated to WTO members indicated that the United States has challenged several of the panel’s findings, including that the detrimental impact does not stem exclusively from legitimate regulatory distinctions because “the amended COOL measure entails an increased recordkeeping burden and increased segregation,” “the current labels provided by the amended COOL measure have a potential for label inaccuracy,” and “the amended COOL measure continues to exempt a large proportion of muscle cuts.” Appeals are heard by three members of a permanent seven-member appellate body unaffiliated with any government, and the appellate body generally has three months to conclude its report. Additional information on the WTO panel’s…
The Center for Food Safety and two other public interest organizations have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to overturn its approval of 11 animal drugs containing ractopamine hydrochloride on the ground that the agency failed to undertake the analysis purportedly required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before approving them. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Hamburg, No. 14-4932 (N.D. Cal., filed November 6, 2014). The Center previously petitioned FDA to reduce the allowable levels of ractopamine, administered in animal feeds to boost growth and leanness in meat production, and to study its potential effects on human health and animal welfare. Information about the petition appears in Issue 466 of this Update. The complaint sets forth the effects these drugs allegedly have on livestock, like pigs, and on the environment. The plaintiffs claim that the company that makes ractopamine has acknowledged the “risk…
Confirming early reports discussed in Issue 536 of this Update, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has again ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico regarding U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations requiring pork and beef products originating outside of the United States to bear labels indicating where each step in the production process occurred. The compliance panel found that the measure “accords to Canadian and Mexican livestock less favorable treatment than that accorded to like US livestock.” The panel also found that the rule’s 2013 amendment “increases the original COOL measure’s detrimental impact on the competitive opportunities of important livestock in the US market, because it necessitates increased segregation of meat and livestock according to origin; entails a higher recordkeeping burden; and increases the original COOL measure’s incentive to choose domestic over imported livestock.” Following the decision’s release, Mexican and Canadian trade officials issued a joint statement calling the COOL rule “a…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued an order requiring pork producers, veterinarians and diagnostic laboratories to report new incidents of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and porcine deltacoronavirus to state health officials or USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The order formalizes measures announced in April to combat the spread of PEDv, which has killed some seven million piglets since it was identified in early 2013. USDA also announced $26.2 million to fund a variety of activities to combat the diseases and support affected producers, including vaccine development, state management and diagnostic testing. More information on the April announcement appears in Issue 521 of this Update. Issue 526
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will require reporting of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) and Swine Delta Coronavirus infections to curb the spread of the diseases. In addition, USDA will track “movements of pigs, vehicles, and other equipment leaving affected premises.” Hog farms in 29 states have already reported incidents of PEDv, which has killed more than six million piglets since it was first identified last spring. The virus poses no food safety concerns because it only affects pigs, but it has contributed to higher domestic pork prices. No PEDv vaccine is approved for use in the United States, but earlier this month, six senators from pork-producing states pressed Senate subcommittee leaders to provide funding to develop a vaccine for PEDv and Swine Delta Coronavirus. See Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Announcement, April 18, 2014. Issue 521
