On November 13, 2024, Judge Mary M. Rowland of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a significant ruling in a putative nationwide class-action lawsuit against The Kraft Heinz Company and Kraft Heinz Ingredients Corp. The
Food Fight
The Food Fight blog, published by Thompson Coburn, focuses on legal issues related to food and beverage industries. It covers topics such as food labeling and advertising disputes, class action lawsuits involving food products, regulatory compliance with FDA and state laws, product liability concerning food safety, and emerging legal trends in food sovereignty and consumer protection. The blog also discusses litigation outcomes and legal standards applied in food-related cases, including reasonable consumer expectations and definitions of terms like "natural" and "preservative." It serves as a resource for legal professionals and stakeholders interested in the intersection of food law, regulatory policy, and litigation.
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Latest from Food Fight
Berkheimer v. REKM Decision Says that Customers Should Reasonably Expect Bones in Boneless Wings
The Ohio Supreme Court recently issued a favorable decision for Ohio restaurants, food suppliers, and farmers regarding potentially injurious substances in food products. In Berkheimer v. REKM, L.L.C., slip opinion No. 2024-Ohio-2787, the court weighed in on whether a consumer…
Do You Have a Constitutional Right to Food? Understanding the Food Sovereignty Movement
By Rachael Moore & Matt Bober
Well, as of November 2021, if you live in Maine, you do. It’s the first state to give constitutional protection to the “right to food.” This constitutional amendment capped a growing and expanding “food sovereignty” movement in Maine
…
Kind Bar MDL plaintiffs appeal federal district court smack down
After seven years of contentious (not to mention costly) litigation, in September 2022, the federal district judge overseeing the In re: Kind LLC “Healthy and Natural” multi-district litigation decertified three state classes
of Kind bar consumers and granted Kind’s motion
of Kind bar consumers and granted Kind’s motion
…
Regulatory risks of marketing CBD-infused food, beverages, and dietary supplements
By Kim Bousquet
As is evident from a walk down a grocery store aisle, many companies are marketing CBD-infused food, beverage, and dietary supplements. And, as many of these companies know, the FDA has not approved CBD use in these products in accordance…
Blog Browse: A spicy relationship between Uber-like delivery services and the restaurants that feed them
When app-based food delivery services (like DoorDash or Grubhub) compete with restaurants, the competition can get “spicy.” Restaurants want to deliver high quality hot, fresh food that tastes good. Uber-type delivery services want to get as many orders as possible…
Hawaiian style or made in Hawaii: Class action lawsuit highlights product origin labeling laws
By Kim Bousquet & Melissa Gold
Hawaiian pizza, punch and rolls are delicious. That’s undisputed. But a recent class action disputes whether King’s Hawaiian rolls are appropriately named because they are not actually made in Hawaii. This question can be resolved by looking to federal and…
We’ve got ‘beef’: Plant-based meat maker appeals decision in favor of Oklahoma’s new labeling law
A plant-based meat company is appealing to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals a federal judge’s recent refusal to halt Oklahoma’s Meat Consumer Protection Act, which requires a disclaimer on plant-based food products that use a meat term in the…
Seventh Circuit rejects 'ingredient list' and 'common sense' defenses in cheese labeling lawsuit
By Kim Bousquet & Melissa Gold
In a much anticipated decision, the Seventh Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of claims alleging that “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” claims on packaging are deceptive.
The plaintiffs’ allegations are simple—the product is not 100% parmesan cheese because it contains…
No preemption for you: “No preservatives” soup label lawsuit not preempted
By Melissa Gold & Kim Bousquet
A Southern District of Illinois federal judge recently held that false advertising claims related to a “no preservatives” claim on soup labels were not preempted. Although the result is not necessarily surprising given recent case outcomes, the argument for preemption…