We want to inform you of a new law in Maryland, effective January 1, 2025, that mandates baby food manufacturers to test for toxic heavy metals, excluding infant formula. Known as Rudy’s Law, this legislation was inspired by...more
Our notable ruling roundup aims to keep our readers up to date on recent rulings in the food & consumer packaged goods space. In Re Plum Baby Food Litigation, No. 4:21-CV-00913-YGR (N.D. Cal. – March 28, 2024): The...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - 20 State AGs Ask FDA to Act on Lead, Metals in Baby Food - Citing a wave of childhood lead poisoning connected to recalled applesauce pouches, a group of 20 state attorneys...more
In the December edition of the Food & Beverage Digest, our roundup of court cases and regulations affecting the food, beverage, agribusiness, and cosmetics industries, states get in on the class action, protein can’t pack a...more
Our weekly roundup aims to keep our readers up to date on recent notable rulings in the food & consumer packaged goods space. Igor Zapadinsky v. Blue Diamond Growers, No. 2:23-cv-00231-JPS (August 7, 2023): The Eastern...more
FDA Proposes Changes to Standards of Identity for Foods Including Salt- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a proposed rule that would change the standards of identity (SOIs) for foods that include salt to...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - California Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Ban Five Food Additives - California lawmakers have introduced first-in-the-nation legislation seeking to ban five food...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the release of the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration’s annual report, which provides data on source attribution estimates for 2020 for Salmonella, E....more
Additional Probes, Lawsuits Announced on Toxic Elements in Baby Food - New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced a probe into whether baby food contains toxic elements such as arsenic and other metals. In a...more
California Proposition 65: Trends and Highlights in April 2020 - As COVID-19, shelter-in-place orders and California Court closures continued into April, new Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”) claims were plentiful and creative,...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - France to Ban Mass Culling of Male Chicks - France’s agriculture minister has reportedly announced that the country will prohibit the mass culling of male chicks shortly after they...more
California’s Proposition 65, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 – or “Prop. 65” – requires “clear and reasonable warnings” on consumer products sold in California if use of the products...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - AGs Submit Comment to FDA on Cannabis - A group of 38 state attorneys general have submitted a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to the agency’s...more
We are writing this memo to bring to your attention that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a new final guidance titled: “Preparation of Food Contact Notifications for Food Contact Substances in Contact...more
2018 Food Industry Decisions with Bite - Food for Thought is a review of significant court decisions affecting the food, beverage, dietary supplements and personal care products industry. Although many cases in this...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - FDA Releases Guidance on Dietary Fiber Labeling - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released guidance identifying eight non-digestible carbohydrates that the agency intends...more
Wage and Hour - Decision Upholds Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Clauses, Resolves Circuit Split - The U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis on May 21, 2018, holding that...more
“Accurate Labels Act” Introduced in Congress - U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) have introduced the Accurate Labels Act, a proposed amendment to the Fair Packaging...more
The Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a class action asserting state law claims that a manufacturer falsely advertised its baby formula as organic. In doing so, the appellate court agreed with the district...more
Court Grants Motion to Dismiss Class Action Involving Organic Baby Formula - Organic Consumers Association v. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., No. 1:16-cv-00925 (D.D.C.): The Court entered an order granting Defendant’s...more
Community Science Institute v. Target Corp, et al., No. RG18-887565 (Cal. Super. Ct. – Alameda Cnty.): Proposition 65 action alleging Defendant fails to warn consumers that its Up & Up Toddler Beginnings Infant Formula with...more
French Agency Finds Unlabeled Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food - The Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF), a French agency for consumer affairs and fraud...more
Last month, the FDA announced that companies will be able to label baby food products with advice about how the early introduction of peanuts in an infant’s diet may reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy. This marks...more
A recent case in the Northern District of California against Gerber over alleged misbranding of its “stages” baby food products demonstrates the difficulty companies face in knocking out food misbranding cases at the motion...more