The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is implementing changes to the Nutrition Facts Panel for food and beverage labels. Manufacturers are required to comply with the new requirements by January 1, 2020, although manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales have an additional year, until January 1, 2021. Key changes include the following: Serving sizes are being changed to reflect the amounts typically consumed. In addition, larger packages may now be considered a…

Sixty-eight percent of households in the United States — or approximately 85 million families — own a pet, according to the 2017 to 2018 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association. Because most pet owners treat their pets as members of the family, it is no surprise then that what they feed their pets is as important to them as what they feed their family. As consumers shift toward “organic,” “natural”…

Each month we will be sharing the PC Food Litigation Index, a summary of latest class action filings in the food and beverage industry. This data is compiled by Perkins Coie based on a review of dockets from courts nationwide. September filing activity included several cases challenging the marketing and labeling claims attached to beverage products, with well-known brands like Coca-Cola and Arizona Beverages in plaintiffs lawyers’ sights. Nelson v. Coca-Cola is among the latest…

On September 18, Patrick Thompson, Steven Hwang and Cassandra Abernathy led a 60 minute webcast to discuss key developments and trends in food litigation. One of the major trends discussed was the significant increase in Prop 65 notices. Food Navigator has created a summary of the webcast here.…

On August 1, plaintiff and putative class representative Markeith Parks sued celebrity chef Rachael Ray’s dog food brand Nutrish® alleging that the products are falsely labeled and marketed as “natural.” The complaint states that Nutrish® contains the chemical glyphosate, which Parks alleges is “unnatural.”[1] Given Rachael Ray’s national fame, this case has caught the attention of multiple media outlets and legal powerhouses with experience in similar claims. Perkins Coie’s food litigation team conducted research into…

With summer drawing to an end and the kids going back to school, it’s time to check in on the latest food litigation trends. Please join Perkins Coie on Tuesday, September 18 at 1:00 PM ET/12:00 PM CT/10:00 AM PT for a review of the key developments and trends in food litigation. This 60-minute webcast reflects our active monitoring of food litigation filings in jurisdictions nationwide and will include an analysis of the key legal…

Each month we will be sharing the PC Food Litigation Index, a summary of latest class action filings in the food and beverage industry. This data is compiled by Perkins Coie based on a review of dockets from courts nationwide. August 2018 continued this year’s trend of higher monthly filings than in 2017. False advertising, slack-fill and health maintenance claims were filed this month. Some claims were filed in batches. For instance, two class action…