By Ricardo Carvajal – In June 2008, the Technical Committee on Dietary Lipids of the International Life Sciences Institute sponsored a workshop titled “Towards Dietary Reference Intakes for Omega-3 Fatty Acids.” A summary of the workshop participants' conclusions is now published in the Journal of …
By Riëtte van Laack & J.P. Ellison – The Seventh Circuit’s March 12, 2009 decision in United States v. Farinella starkly shows what can happen when, as the court concluded, a prosecutor relies on bad facts for the government and combines that with no controlling law, …
By Ricardo Carvajal – The Augusta Chronicle reports that the Georgia legislature will soon be sending new food safety legislation to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature. Senate Bill 80 (S.B. 80), which was unanimously approved by both houses, directs the Commissioner of Agriculture to issue …
By Riëtte van Laack & Ricardo Carvajal – In a reversal of a U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. United States that an egg producer did not suffer a …
By Riëtte van Laack – In 2004, the State of California sued three tuna companies, Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC, Del Monte Corporation, and Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC, for violation of California’s Proposition 65 because they failed to provide the required clear and reasonable warning that their …
By Ricardo Carvajal– In an address highlighting the need to tackle problems with the nation’s food safety system, President Obama today announced the appointments of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as the new FDA Commissioner and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as Principal Deputy Commissioner with primary responsibility for …
By Ricardo Carvajal – The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) plans to hold public meetings in the Washington D.C. area in April to address issues raised by its proposal to revise its regulations on the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of …
By Ricardo Carvajal – In response to the recent outbreak of Salmonella in peanut-derived products, FDA has issued a Guidance for Industry targeted to manufacturers who use peanut-derived ingredients in their products. (The guidance does not target producers of those ingredients.) The guidance addresses different …
By Riëtte van Laack – The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") has released a report that calls for FDA to take further actions to improve oversight and consumer understanding of dietary supplements. In its 2009 Report, GAO reviews developments since its previous report in 2000. Significant …
By Ricardo Carvajal – The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine and the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Research Council have established an ad hoc committee to examine FDA’s oversight of food safety and make recommendations to fill “gaps …
By Cassandra A. Soltis – The Indiana Senate is currently reviewing House Bill No. 1207, passed by the House on February 25, 2009, which would require food establishments having 20 or more locations in Indiana to post both calorie and carbohydrate information “in a manner that …
By Riëtte van Laack – The Eastern District Court of California enjoined California from enforcing California's Penal Code Section 599f against federally inspected swine slaughterhouses on the ground that section 599f is expressly preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act (“FMIA”). Section 599f prohibits a slaughterhouse …
By Cassandra A. Soltis – A settlement agreement reached between numerous state attorneys general and Coke, Nestle, and Beverage Partnership Worldwide makes clear that it is not just the Federal Trade Commission that is scrutinizing weight loss claims. The target of the attorneys general action …
By John R. Fleder, Douglas B. Farquhar & Ricardo Carvajal – The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California (Sacramento) has announced guilty pleas by two individuals for fraudulent activities in connection with their distribution of tomato products. Allegedly at the direction of her superiors …
By John R. Fleder, Douglas B. Farquhar & Ricardo Carvajal – FDA has obtained summary judgment and an order of permanent injunction against a Minnesota seafood supplier that was found to have had an inadequate HACCP plan for more than three years, in violation of FDC …
