While not often thought of as the pack leader on food regulatory issues, West Virginia recently did just that by becoming the first state to pass a state-wide ban on food dyes with the enactment of H.B. 2354 in March 2025.Continue Reading The Domino Effect: West Virginia’s State-Wide Dye Ban Leads Off FDA Action
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
On November 4, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the publication of its Supplement to the 2022 Food Code. The Supplement updates the 2022 Food Code with retail food handling and safety recommendations formulated by regulatory officials, industry, academia, and consumers at the 2023 Biennial Meeting of the Conference for Food Protection. The Food Code is a non-binding publication by the FDA arising out of the work of the conference intended for states to enact into law, and/or for food service providers to adopt as best practices.Continue Reading Supplement to the 2022 Food Code