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Food Court Law Blog

Serving up the latest legal developments impacting the Food & Beverage Industry

The Food Court delivers packaged insight into legal challenges, regulatory developments, and business trends impacting companies in the food and beverage industry. Product labeling, class actions, and antitrust litigation, as well as other top of mind issues confronting the industry are analyzed.

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Potential Impacts of the Federal Reclassification of Marijuana
In May, President Biden announced the Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposed rule reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
Barilla's Pasta Under Fire: Class Action Certified Based on Misleading Label Imitating “Italian” Origin

On May 28, 2024, Chief Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California certified a class of consumers in an action against Barilla Foods. The putative class action alleged that Barilla’s packaging and labeling misled consumers to believe that Barilla pasta products are produced in Italy and are sourced from Italian ingredients, when many of Barilla’s pasta products are produced in either New York or Iowa.

Consumer Data Collection and Privacy: Best Practices and Risk Mitigation Strategies for Franchise Systems
Over the past decade, companies have increasingly turned to the collection of consumer personal data to help them better understand and adapt to the habits, preferences, and needs of consumers, engage in targeted marketing, and gain insight into the broader marketplace—that is, to better compete. Some businesses have also quietly used the sale of their consumers’ personal data to third parties as an additional source of revenue.
Eleventh Circuit Revives Putative Class Action Against Burger King for Violation of Federal Antitrust Laws Based on No-Poaching Provisions in Franchise Agreements
In October 2018, a former line cook of a Burger King franchise restaurant in Illinois, filed a class action complaint against Burger King Worldwide and Burger King Corporation. Now, more than two years later, the putative class action has been given new life by the Eleventh Circuit.
Cohen v. ConAgra- Poultry False Advertising Claims Survive Despite Federally Preempted Product Mislabeling Claim
In October of this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals analyzed the issue of federal preemption of poultry product labeling in the context of the Cohen v. ConAgra Brand putative class action case. Read more to learn about how this case fits into the broader issue of false advertising claims in the food and beverage industry.
2021: Another Year of Vanilla Lawsuits
After the avalanche of lawsuits in 2019 and 2020 targeting products marketed as containing vanilla-flavoring were largely dismissed by federal courts nationwide, many predicted that vanilla product labeling lawsuits would have ceased, or at least decreased. But, these lawsuits continue to flood the courts—though still unsuccessfully.  
Salmon Price-Fixing Litigation Survives Dismissal
On March 26, 2021, Southern District of Florida District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga denied a motion to dismiss an antitrust class action alleging a conspiracy to fix the price of farm-raised Atlantic salmon globally.[1] According to the Plaintiffs’ Second Consolidated Amended Complaint, the Defendants engaged in a conspiracy to increase salmon prices by manipulating the...