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Food Liability Law Blog

Discussion of emerging legal threats to the food industry.
By Kenneth Odza

Post Frequency: 13.5/day

Last Entry: March 27, 2013 at 17:52:48

A "Surprise" for Your Sweet Tooth: FDA Revisits Inedible Objects in Candy

Posted on March 27, 2013
Many of you may be familiar with the famous confection known as the Kinder Surprise or Kinder Egg, a toy-filled chocolate that is touted as the single largest children's candy category in the world. The treat is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and has risen to nearly cult status in certain countries...

Turn your Bar Bill Into a Federal Case

Posted on March 25, 2013
A guy walks into a bar . . . No, seriously, a guy walks into a bar. He orders a couple of beers and a couple of drinks. His bill comes. He pays his bill. He leaves. Sounds like something that happens everyday, thousands of times a day, right? Let's try it again...

FDA Cracks Down on Company's Facebook "Likes"

Posted on March 18, 2013
Social media has become a critical component of a company's product marketing and promotion. However, based on FDA's increased enforcement action around social media activity, it is a risk to be carefully considered. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a December 11, 2012 warning letter on its website that cited a dietary supplement company for its improper social media activity, among other things...

New York "Big Gulp" Ban Bites It For Now

Posted on March 14, 2013
Among the ironies connected to New York's attempt to ban large cups of soda is the fact that the last time I was in the city, before the advent of 7-11 to its precincts, the one thing I really craved was a really large cup of Dr Pepper. When I visit New York, on business or for pleasure, I typically walk miles and miles, and on a hot day an icy cold cup of soda (I prefer the Diet) is what I need to refresh myself...

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The Case That Makes You Go "Ewww"

Posted on February 20, 2013
You've heard about this case. It's the story of the cop whose burger was spat on in Vancouver, Washington. The Washington Supreme Court's decision in Bylsma v. Burger King Corp., which covers a tiny but critical part of the policeman's lawsuit, has gotten a lot of publicity...

Register Today for FDA's Public Meetings on Two Major FSMA Proposed Rules

Posted on February 13, 2013
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made some progress toward implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) by issuing two new proposed food safety rules. Specifically, the agency published proposed rules to establish standards for (1) growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption (the 'Produce Safety Rule') and for (2) current good manufacturing practice and hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food (the 'Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule')...

Initiative 522 Forwarded to the Washington State Legislature

Posted on February 06, 2013
After reviewing the voter petitions filed in support of Initiative 522 (I-522), the Washington Secretary of State's Election Division announced last Friday that the measure received enough signatures and has been certified. The official certification was signed by Secretary of State Kim Wyman...

Stoel Rives Opens Office in Washington, D.C.

Posted on February 05, 2013
We are pleased to announce that we have opened a satellite office in Washington, D.C. Our new address, effective immediately: Stoel Rives LLP 1020 19th Street NW, Suite 375 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: (202) 398-1795 / Fax: (202) 621-6394 The new office is headed by firm partner Greg Jenner, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U...

Food Processors from Around the World Visit the NWFPA Expo

Posted on January 14, 2013
Today begins the annual NWFPA Expo event that draws food processors from around the world. The three day event is taking place at the Portland Convention Center and will include educational sessions as well as an exhibition hall. Stoel Rives attorneys will be attending the event and hope to see you there.

Another GMO Labeling Iniative on the Horizon, This Time in Washington

Posted on January 11, 2013
Last week on January 3, 2013, sponsors of Initiative 522 (I-522), a measure that would require the labeling of certain genetically engineered foods, filed their petitions with the Washington Secretary of State's Office for review. The filing of I-522 comes in the wake of Proposition 37, a similar initiative that was ultimately rejected by California voters in November 2012...

FDA Releases Two New Proposed Food Safety Rules

Posted on January 07, 2013
On January 4, 2013, exactly two years after the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published two new proposed food safety rules that will be available for public comment for the next 120 days...

Battle Over Labeling Genetically Modified Food Continues

Posted on December 19, 2012
Our colleague Claire Mitchell recently published an article in Law360 that discusses a recent class action lawsuit filed against Pepperidge Farm, Inc. in Colorado on November 6, 2012. The complaint alleges that Pepperidge Farm misrepresented its Cheddar Goldfish crackers as 'natural' when, in fact, they contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)...

FDA Extends Food Facility Registration Deadline Until January 31

Posted on December 17, 2012
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the deadline for food facilities to submit their registration until January 31, 2013. Under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States are required to renew their facility registration by December 31, 2012, and every two years after that...

FSIS Tells Ground Poultry Producers to Reassess Their Food Safety Plans

Posted on December 06, 2012
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a press release on Wednesday, December 5, 2012, announcing that companies producing raw ground chicken and turkey and similar products will be required to reassess their sanitation procedures and pathogen control plans over the next few months...

Pepperidge Farm Facing Potential Class Action Lawsuit Over All Natural Claims

Posted on November 19, 2012
Although California's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, better known as Proposition 37, failed earlier this month when put to a vote, food companies still remain vulnerable to attacks over the use of genetically engineered ingredients in their products...

ABC Files Motion to Dismiss BPI's Defamation Lawsuit

Posted on November 13, 2012
A few months ago, I wrote about a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Beef Products, Inc. (BPI), a South Dakota-based meat processor, against ABC News Inc. found here. The most recent development in the case occurred on October 31 when lawyers for ABC filed a motion to dismiss...

Proposition 37 Rejected In California, But Other GMO Labeling Initiatives May Be On The Horizon

Posted on November 07, 2012
The high profile battle over Proposition 37 is now officially over. The California voter initiative, also known as the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, would have required certain raw and processed foods that have or may have been 'entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering' to be labeled as such...

Californians to Decide Tomorrow Whether Prop 37 Sinks or Swims

Posted on November 05, 2012
Tomorrow, California voters will be asked to decide the fate of Proposition 37, a voter initiative that would require certain raw and processed foods that have or may have been 'entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering' to be labeled as such, if sold in California...

California's Proposition 37 and WTO Agreements

Posted on October 29, 2012
Recently, I attended the annual American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) Conference in Nashville, TN. A topic on many of the attendees' minds was California's Proposition 37 or 'The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.' A previous discussion of Proposition 37 can be found here...

FDA Now Accepting Registration Renewals

Posted on October 22, 2012
This morning, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that as of 12:01AM this morning, the updated food facility registration system is now accepting food facility registration renewals. The renewal period was expected to open on October 1, 2012, however, FDA delayed the registration after receiving numerous requests from the Grocery Manufacturers Association and other trade associations seeking further guidance in meeting the registration requirements...

Food Security Act Doesn't Apply to Proceeds

Posted on October 05, 2012
The Food Security Act of 1995 is part of a matryoshka of statutes. In the center is the general rule of 9-320(a) of the UCC, that a buyer in the ordinary course of business takes free of a security interest created by its seller...

FDA Delays Biennial Food Facility Registration Period

Posted on October 03, 2012
It seems like 'delay' has become the word most often associated with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Last next, we reported here on the Food Liability Law blog that starting on October 1, 2012, food facilities would be required to begin the biennial re-registration process in order to comply with the provisions of the FSMA...

Mark Your Calendars! Biennial Registration of Food Facilities Under FSMA Starts Next Week

Posted on September 26, 2012
Registration of food facilities with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been a requirement for almost a decade. Since the passage of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act on June 12, 2002, facilities engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food for consumption in the United States have been required to register with FDA in order to provide the agency with information on the origin and distribution of food and feed products, thereby aiding in the detection and quick response to actual or potential threats to the U...

Beef Products, Inc. Files Defamation Suit Against ABC

Posted on September 14, 2012
Just yesterday, Beef Products, Inc. (BPI), along with Technology, Inc. and Freezing Machines, Inc., collectively filed suit against ABC in Circuit Court in Union County, South Dakota claiming that ABC's news coverage of lean finely textured beef (LFTB), or what became infamously known by the nickname 'pink slime,' was defamatory and ultimately devastating for the company's reputation and business...

Blawg 100 Amici List Looking for Nominations

Posted on August 24, 2012
Hat tip to the Renewable + Law blog. We hear the American Bar Association Law Journal is now accepting nominations for Blawg 100 Amici, its annual list of 100 best legal blogs. We'd appreciate any support our readership can give on behalf of Food Liability Law Blog...

Oregon to Adopt 2009 FDA Food Code

Posted on August 17, 2012
The Oregon Public Health Division's (OPHD) Foodborne Illness Prevention Program announced that it is moving forward with the adoption of the 2009 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code. The new rules will take effect on September 4, 2012. Oddly, however, the agency noted that it would not be adopting the 'No Bare Hand Contact' section of the Food Code...

Canada Proposes Single Food Safety Inspection Model

Posted on August 16, 2012
In May 2012, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published a report called The Improved Food Inspection Model: The Case for Change which outlined the agency's current approach to food inspection, the context for a new food inspection approach, and the proposed components of an improved food inspection model...

California GE Ballot Initiative a Game Changer

Posted on August 15, 2012
Our colleague Claire Mitchell recently published an article in Guide to U.S. Food Labeling Law that describes how a California ballot initiative could be a game changer for food companies that use biotechnology in their food production process. Titled the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, the initiative represents the state's first-ever ballot measure to require labeling of genetically engineered foods...

Update on BPA Regulation

Posted on July 20, 2012
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that bisphenol A (BPA) is now formally banned from use in baby bottles and sippy cups. The announcement came as a surprise to some as the FDA had only just recently, on March 30, 2012, issued a decision to deny a petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to ban the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in all food and beverage packaging materials (see previous blog post on FDA's denial here)...

It's not boilerplate, it's part of the contract

Posted on July 17, 2012
At the back of most contracts are provisions that lawyers and parties often refer to as "boilerplate". The Free Dictionary defines it as "inconsequential, formulaic or stereotypical language." A recent decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court supports the interpretation I've given my colleagues for years: there is no such thing as inconsequential language in a contract...

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