By Ricardo Carvajal – A putative class action targeting certain food products that declare “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) as an ingredient was recently stayed based on the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. As noted by the Court, prior decisions have gone both ways on the question of …
GMA Science Forum 2014 kicks off on April 6 in Washington, DC. The Forum will feature numerous sessions addressing scientific and regulatory issues of interest to the packaged food industry. A complete agenda is available here. HPM attorneys will help present a half-day introduction to …
By Riëtte van Laack – Defendants Wellness Support Network, and co-owners Robert and Robyn Held, marketed two diabetes products – Diabetic Pack and Insulin Resistance – as medical foods. In 2005 and 2006, FDA issued two Warning letters to them (here and here), claiming the products …
By Ricardo Carvajal – Sabra Dipping Co., LLC ("Sabra") submitted a citizen petition (Dokcket No. FDA-2014-P-0259) asking FDA to establish a standard of identity ("SOI") for hummus. The proposed SOI would define hummus as “the semisolid food prepared from mixing cooked, dehydrated, or dried chickpeas and tahini” with …
By JP Ellison – We previously posted (here and here) about the Supreme Court case that will be argued next month in which the parties are debating the proper interplay between the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDC Act”) and the Lanham Act. Briefly, the issue …
By Riëtte van Laack – Last week, FDA announced the long awaited proposal for revisions to the regulations (here and here) for the format and mandatory information included in the Nutrition Facts Box (“NFB”) and the Supplement Facts Box (“SFB”), and for the calculation of the …
By Wes Siegner – The following organizations filed joint comments on November 26, 2013 voicing strong opposition to the food provisions of FDA’s final IND Guidance and requesting that FDA reopen the comment period to permit comment on the food provisions of the guidance, which FDA …
By Ricardo Carvajal, Diane B. McColl & JP Ellison – The Center for Food Safety filed suit in the DC District Court challenging FDA’s allegedly “unlawful action of exempting substances that are [GRAS] from regulation as food additives under a proposed rule for more than fifteen …
By Ricardo Carvajal – FDA entered into a consent decree with the Center for Food Safety that specifies new deadlines for the agency’s submission of final rules implementing FSMA to the Federal Register for publication. The consent decree marks the latest chapter in a case that …
By Ricardo Carvajal – FDA published a notice announcing the availability of a Draft Approach for Designating High-Risk Foods, and asking for comments and information to help the agency refine that approach. Designation of a food as a High-Risk Food (HRF) would trigger additional recordkeeping requirements intended …
By Riëtte van Laack – On Friday, February 7, 2014, the FTC filed its long-awaited brief in the D.C. Circuit action concerning POM Wonderful LLC’s (“POM’s”) advertising for its pomegranate products (see our previous post here). Not surprising, the FTC asserts that POM’s ads were deceptive. First, …
By Riëtte van Laack – FDA published a proposed rule to implement the Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 2005 (“SFTA”) in the Federal Register on February 5. FDA also published Questions and Answers related to the sanitary transportation of human and animal food. Enacted in 2005, the …
By Wes Siegner – On January 21 we posted on FDA’s unusual decision to reopen the comment period for the final guidance on INDs with respect to food and cosmetic research. Subsequently we learned that 60 university department heads submitted a comment to FDA’s Final IND …
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. is participating in the Food and Drug Law Institute's Food Week 2014 being held February 10–13 in Washington, D.C. This program provides an opportunity for food law, regulation and policy stakeholders to gather practical guidance on cutting-edge issues and hear …
By Riëtte van Laack – On December 26, FDA sent Warning Letters (here and here) to Accera, Inc. and NVN Therapeutics. Accera Inc. markets a product, Axona, as a medical food “for the clinical dietary management of the metabolic processes associated with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s …
