Synopsis: Unhappy with the FDA’s position on branding, Congressional representatives seek to define “natural” narrowly to limit its use in consumer advertising.
As the cosmetic industry moves on to new marketing lingo connoting healthier and safer cosmetics, including “clean beauty,” “sustainable,” “vegan,” and “pure,” New York Representative Sean Patrick Maloney introduced the Natural Cosmetics Act
The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure are generally liberal and allow the appellate courts a great deal of discretion: for example, FRAP 2 allows a Court of Appeals to “suspend any provision of these rules in a particular case and order proceedings as it directs, except as otherwise provided in Rule 26(b).” As the Supreme
On September 20, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1884 and SB 1192, which prohibit certain restaurants from offering plastic straws and restrict the default beverage in kid’s meals to water or milk. These restrictions go into effect on January 1, 2019. Restaurants that fall within the scope of these laws are
On September 19, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 2632, which amends California’s slack fill law, and provides manufacturers, retailers, and consumers with greater clarity regarding the requirements for packaging.
Slack fill is the empty space between the actual container capacity and the volume of the product in the container (i.e., the air in a bag of potato chips). Manufacturers and retailers may include slack fill in their products, but the question of whether slack fill is permissible turns on whether the empty space is deemed “non-functional.” “Non-functional” slack fill is impermissible because it can mislead consumers into believing they are getting more product than the package actually contains.
Continue Reading CHIP CHIP HOORAY! California Adds Exemptions to Slack Fill Law
One of the latest efforts by a municipality to address public health concerns by requiring warnings on certain products may be revived depending on the outcome of a recent rehearing before an 11-judge en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit. The en banc panel is reconsidering its 2017 decision blocking on First Amendment grounds a San Francisco ordinance that would require soda and other sugary drink sellers to provide a prominent health warning on billboard and other outdoor advertising.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Reconsidering San Francisco Soda Health Warning
Certain restaurants, grocers, and other food establishments will soon be required to comply with the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) menu labeling rules. The FDA previously finalized menu labeling rules in connection with the Affordable Care Act to make calorie and nutritional information more available to consumers dining out. Last year, the FDA extended the compliance deadline to May 7, 2018.
Continue Reading FDA Menu Labeling Rules Unfreeze
On Wednesday, October 21 at 12:00 p.m. Central, Jay W. Connolly, Joseph J. Orzano and Kristine Argentine will present Seyfarth’s third installment of our 2015 Class Action Webinar Series. The presenters will discuss the current state of labeling class action litigation that has targeted food, beverage, nutrition and other industries in recent years. This webinar
On September 1, 2015, California enacted Senate Bill 633 (“SB 633”), loosening the state’s restrictions on “Made in USA” labeling. Under existing law, codified at Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17533.7, a product may not be sold or offered for sale in California as “Made in U.S.A” if the product, or any article, unit,
The Illinois Supreme Court recently granted a Petition for Leave to Appeal in Price v. Phillip Morris, Inc., after the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fifth District effectively reinstated a $10 Billion verdict against Philip Morris from 2003. 9 N.E.3d 599 (5th Dist. 2014). The Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to once again weigh in
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Gina R. Merrill
A customer filed a class action lawsuit this past year against the owner of several well-known restaurants in Manhattan based on two novel theories. First, he alleged that any restaurant that added an “automatic” gratuity to the bill ‒ even when that gratuity was plainly disclosed