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Food & Consumer Packaged Goods Litigation

Food & Consumer Packaged Goods Litigation shares timely insights into litigation developments, emerging arguments and challenges facing food and consumer packaged goods manufacturers and related industries.

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November 8, 2018

Notable Ruling: Alien Tort Statute Focus in Aiding and Abetting

On Tuesday, October 23, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important opinion reviving a decade-old Alien Tort Claims Act (ATS) suit based on alleged aiding and abetting slave labor in cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast. Doe 1 v. Nestle, et al., No. 17-55435, 2018 WL 5260852 (9th Cir. Oct. 23, 2018).

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November 6, 2018

PC Food Litigation Index: October 2018

Each month we will be sharing the PC Food Litigation Index, a summary of latest class action filings in the food and beverage industry.

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November 5, 2018

Industry Insights: The New Nutrition Facts Panel

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.

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October 19, 2018

Industry Insights: Fit for Fido? The Rise Of 'Natural' Pet Food Claims

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.

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October 9, 2018

PC Food Litigation Index: September 2018

Each month we will be sharing the PC Food Litigation Index, a summary of latest class action filings in the food and beverage industry.

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October 1, 2018

Industry Insights: Significant Increase in Prop 65 Actions

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.

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September 28, 2018

Industry Insights: The Rise of Natural Pet Food Claims

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

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September 12, 2018

Back to School: Food Litigation Trends Webinar

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.

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September 11, 2018

PC Food Litigation Index: August 2018

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.

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August 2, 2018

PC Food Litigation Index: July 2018

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. Food litigation filings in July were in line with the year's overall trend, pacing slightly ahead of 2017 numbers.

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July 23, 2018

Notable Ruling: Precedent-Setting Proposition 65 Pre-emption Decision Involving Breakfast Cereal

Last week, the California Court of Appeal held that a plaintiff's suit seeking to require Proposition 65 acrylamide based cancer warnings on 59 popular breakfast cereals was pre-empted by federal nutrition policies aimed at encouraging Americans to consume more whole grains and by FDA letters stating that any warnings should be deferred given the uncertain science on the risks to huma

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July 10, 2018

PC Food Litigation Index: June 2018

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. Consumers continued to challenge the "all natural" labels on products that contain the popular ingredient xanthan gum, used as a stabilizer and emulsifier in

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June 7, 2018

PC Food Litigation Index: May 2018

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. Through May the pace of consumer class action filings against food companies continued unabated, tracking last years filing rate leading to nearly 150 new ca

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June 5, 2018

Notable Ruling: Supply Chain Opinion for Mars

On Monday, June 4, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important opinion, Hodson v.

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May 25, 2018

Industry Insights: FDA Extends Deadline for Eliminating PHOs

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration determined in 2015 that Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) are not "Generally Recognized as Safe," or GRAS. PHOs are the leading source of trans fats in the human diet. In the nutrition industry, much is disputed, but the unhealthy nature of trans fats, a form of unsaturated fat, is not.