On September 2, 2025, Massachusetts ushered in one of the nation’s most comprehensive consumer protection regulations. The regulation, Title 940 CMR 38.00 (the “Regulation”), is industry-agnostic and seeks to protect Massachusetts consumers from deceptive and unfair practices generally. The Regulation prohibits “junk fees” and also mandates seller transparency on product costs, hidden costs and subscription cancellation processes, while also dictating fee disclosures for product marketing, solicitation, and sales. The Regulation also governs automatic renewal features and surcharge disclosures, touching nearly every aspect of the consumer relationship, including in the food and beverage sector.Continue Reading Massachusetts “Junk Fee” Ban Hits Businesses Hard

On June 22, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 25 (“SB 25”), a sweeping new measure promised to redefine consumer transparency and public health accountability in the food and beverage sector. The law requires that certain packaged products display a warning label when they contain ingredients disfavored by foreign health authorities, regardless of those ingredients’ legal status under U.S. law. SB 25 identifies 44 specific dyes and synthetic ingredients requiring a warning label, notably including Red Dye No. 40, Yellow No. 5, and bleached flour. The law also establishes new structural reforms such as the creation of a state nutrition advisory committee, updated medical training requirements, and enhanced physical activity mandates in schools. While the law does not take effect until January 1, 2027, it has already triggered significant concern within the food and beverage industry and is poised to prompt far-reaching legal challenges, compliance overhauls, and broader regulatory ripples throughout the U.S. marketplace.Continue Reading Texas Enacts Sweeping Food Additive Labeling Law: Implications for the Industry and Interstate Commerce

A Federal District Court in California has ruled that Proposition 65 warning requirements for dietary acrylamide are unconstitutional. The California Chamber of Commerce (“CalChamber”) sued five years ago challenging the statewide requirement under Proposition 65 for warning labels on foods containing acrylamide. (California Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta, No. 2:19-cv-02019-DJC-JDP.) This ruling is a major victory for CalChamber and the latest chapter in its long battle with the California Attorney General and private enforcer Council for Education and Research on Toxics (“CERT”) over whether a warning can be required by the State in light of the disputed science around acrylamide.Continue Reading Trial Court Strikes Down California’s Prop 65 Acrylamide Warning Requirements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a comprehensive set of actions to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination on April 28, 2025, with a focus on preventing PFAS from entering drinking water systems, holding polluters accountable, and protecting passive receivers. According to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, this announcement represents the initial phase of a strategy aimed at tackling PFAS contamination throughout the Trump Administration. Despite the announcement’s emphasis on enforcement, significant questions remain regarding the EPA’s commitment to existing core PFAS regulation.Continue Reading Unpacking EPA’s PFAS Announcement: Addressing Contamination with Ambiguity Ahead

Until this year, food companies—often the target of Proposition 65 enforcement actions—have been limited to specific “full-length” language for Prop 65 warnings, without explicit guidance regarding whether short-form warnings could be used as a safe harbor warning for food products and non-alcoholic beverages. Prior to the implementation of amended regulations this year, Prop 65 regulations required the following full-length warnings for food products containing a listed carcinogen or reproductive toxicant:Continue Reading Navigating the Legal Soup: A New “Short-Form” Recipe for Prop 65 Warnings on Food and Beverages

The jury in the Banks v. R.C. Bigelow, Inc. litigation has returned its verdict, awarding consumers $2.3 million – short of the $3.26 million that plaintiffs’ counsel had requested. The Banks litigation challenged Bigelow’s “Manufactured in the USA 100%” claim used on some of its tea packaging. Plaintiffs argued that the claim was false because the company imported its tea; however the company’s position in the litigation was that the claim referred to the US-based facilities where the teas were blended and packaged. Notably, due to an earlier-issued summary judgment order from the judge (finding that the challenged claim was literally false), the only questions before the jury were the amount of damages and whether there was intentional conduct by the company supporting an award of punitive damages. While the jury awarded compensatory damages, it did not find that there was proof sufficient to support a punitive damages award by clear and convincing evidence.Continue Reading Bigelow Jury Verdict Could Increase Challenges To “Made In USA” Labels

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced a new online resource called the Chemical Contaminants Transparency Tool (CCT Tool) which allows the public to search for information about different chemical contaminants that may be found in human food. This online, searchable database provides a consolidated list of contaminant levels such as tolerances, action levels, and guidance levels used to evaluate potential health risks in human foods. This tool is part of the FDA’s efforts to modernize food chemical safety and has been launched as part of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.Continue Reading FDA’s New Transparency Tool Addresses Chemical Contaminants

In a recent advisory, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy underscored the connection between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. Citing alcohol as the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., the advisory links it to at least seven types of cancer, including breast and colorectal cancers. Despite this, according to Dr. Murthy, less than half of Americans recognize alcohol as a cancer risk factor. Dr. Murthy notes that alcohol is implicated in around 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually, exceeding alcohol-related traffic fatalities. The advisory recommends updating the health warning label on alcohol beverages, reassessing recommended limits for alcohol consumption, strengthening public educational awareness, and promoting alcohol screenings in the clinical setting.Continue Reading Rethinking Alcohol Labels: The Surgeon General Calls for Change

The wine industry faced significant challenges due to tariffs imposed by President Trump’s first administration. During the presidential campaign, and since his election on November 5, 2024, President Trump has made it clear that he will enact higher tariffs as a key part of the political agenda of his second administration. A few days ago, he nominated Jamieson Greer as his pick for U.S. Trade Representative as the nation’s top trade official, who served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, then U.S. Trade Representative during Trump’s first term; if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Mr. Greer is expected “to pursue an ambitious trade agenda.” This post highlights the history of Trump’s tariffs on wine, their effects, and what might be expected in his new term.Continue Reading The Impact of Trump’s Tariffs on the Wine Industry: Past and Future