Rule 12(b)(6)

Healthy Conscious

Consumer Class Action, FDA, Food, , , , ,

** FDA Updating Requirements for “Healthy” Claims on Food Labeling **

 

By: Brent E. Johnson

One of the trending areas we have blogged about last year was “healthy” claims in food labelling becoming the new “all natural” target; see Hunter v. Nature’s Way Prod., LLC, No. 16CV532-WQH-BLM, 2016 WL 4262188, at *1 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 12, 2016) (Coconut Oil); Campbell v. Campbell Soup Co., No 3:16-cv-01005 (S.D. Cal. August 8, 2016) (Dkt 18) (Healthy Request® canned soups); Lanovaz v. Twinings N. Am., Inc., No. 5:12-CV-02646-RMW (N.D. Cal. September 6, 2016) (Twinings bagged tea).  It is a lucrative area for the plaintiff’s bar.  James Boswell et al. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 8:16-cv-00278 (C.D. Cal) (recent $750,000 coconut oil settlement based on “healthy” labeling).

In many respects this trend was kicked off in 2015 by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) who issued the KIND® company a not so kind letter asking the company, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 343(r)(1)(A) to remove any mention of the term “healthy” from its packaging and website.  See our prior blog post.  The basis for the FDA’s action is that the term “healthy” has specifically defined meanings under 21 CFR 101.65(d)(2) which includes objective measures such as saturated fat content (must be > 1 g) (see 21 CFR 101.62(c)(2)).  Later in 2016 the FDA seemingly had a change of heart – emailing Kind and stating that the company can return the “healthy” language – as long use “healthy” is used in relation to its “corporate philosophy,” not as a nutrient claim.

Notably, this sparked a wider public health debate about the meaning of “healthy” and whether the focus, for example on the type of fat rather than the total amount of fat consumed, should be reconsidered in light of evolving science on the topic.  In September 2016 the FDA issued a guidance document (Guidance for Industry: Use of the Term “Healthy” in the Labeling of Human Food Products) stating that FDA does not intend to enforce the regulatory requirements for products that use the term healthy if the food is not low in total fat, but has a fat profile makeup of predominantly mono and polyunsaturated fats.

The FDA also requested public comment on the “Use of the Term “Healthy” in the Labeling of Human Food Products” – which comment period ended this week. Comments poured in from consumers and industry stakeholders, reaching 1,100 before the period closed on April 26, 2017. The FDA has not provided a timeline as to when revisions to the definition of “healthy” might occur following these public comments – and it is not clear if President Donald Trump’s January executive order, requiring that two regulations be nixed for every new rule that is passed, will hinder the FDA’s ability to issue a rulemaking on the term “healthy” in the near future.  It is also not clear whether the FDA will combine the rulemaking with its current musing of use of the term “natural” – as the terms are sometimes used synonymously.  Industry groups (and the defense bar) are hopeful though that some clarity will come sooner rather than later.

Sugar in Missouri

Consumer Class Action, False Advertising, Food, , , , , ,

** Do we have a new “sue-me” State for Food and Class Litigators? **

By: Brent E. Johnson

As we blogged about in the past the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance in 2016 that it is false or misleading to describe sweeteners made from sugar cane as “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ). Guidance for Industry: Ingredients Declared as Evaporated Cane Juice.  As anticipated this has opened the way forward for cases against companies using the ECJ term, including of course those cases where the matter had been stayed under the primary jurisdiction doctrine.  Much of this ECJ litigation continues to be focused in state and federal courts in California.

That said, plaintiffs are also filing in other venues.  Missouri for one is becoming increasingly well-known as a plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction following full throated verdicts in product liability cases, such as the $70 million talcum powder case.  And food labeling suits are increasingly being filed as well in this new “sue me” State (in particular, St. Louis City – the 22nd Judicial Circuit, has been called one of “worst places in the nation for a corporation to be sued” and “the new hot spot for litigation tourists.”)  In a recent win for the Plaintiff’s bar with respect to food litigation and labeling claims, a Missouri state court of appeals recently issued an opinion rejecting defenses successful in sister courts. In Murphy v. Stonewall Kitchen, LLC, 503 S.W.3d 308, 310 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016) brought under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA) the plaintiff (and putative class representative) alleged Stonewall Kitchen misrepresented that its cupcake mix was “all natural” when it contained leavening agent sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP).  The trial court, relying on the  decision in Kelly v. Cape Cod Potato Chip Co., 81 F.Supp.3d 754 (W.D. Mo. 2015), granted the motion reasoning that because the ingredient label clearly disclosed the presence of SAPP, it was not plausible that a consumer would believe the “all natural” representation on the product including the SAPP.  The Court of Appeals reversed, expressly rejecting the ingredient list defense.

Since Murphy, at least 16 cases have recently been filed in St. Louis on the topic of evaporated cane juice alone.  The targeted defendants include manufacturers of Pacqui Corn Chips (Dominique Morrison v. Amplify Snack Brands Inc., No. 4:17-cv-00816-RWS (E.D. Mo.), Jelly Belly jelly beans(Jason Allen v. Jelly Belly Candy Company, No. 4:17-cv-00588 (E.D. Mo.), and Bakery on Main granola (Callanan v. Garden of Light, Inc., No. 4:17-cv-01377 (E.D. Mo.).  The cases do appear connected, many having the same plaintiff’s counsel.  It is likely too early to call St. Louis the new “food court” – we’ll monitor it throughout the year though to see if it is a “flash in the pan” or not.

Muscling a Settlement

Consumer Class Action, Pre-Certification, Settlement, ,

protein powder. Supplements for bodybuilders

**Musclepharm negotiates a pre-certification settlement of claims made in relation to claims that its Protein Powder has misleading protein spiking ingredients ** . . .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

By: Brent E. Johnson                                                                                                                                                     

Musclepharm has been sued in the Central District of California alleging that its Combat Powder whey protein is misleadingly labeled.  The case centers around the phenomena of protein spiking: the allegation that because Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines that measure protein use nitrogen as its baseline – a manufacturer can spike the level of the FDA protein measure by adding cheaper non-protein nitrogen sources (such as amino acids, creatine etc.)  In Bruaner v. MusclePharm Corp., No. CV148869FMOAGRX, 2015 WL 4747941, at *1 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 11, 2015), the plaintiff has taken a novel approach. It alleges not that protein spiking, itself, is misleading but that Musclepharm’s advertising is misleading because it contains a “Brand Promise” that represents that Musclepharm does not engage in the practice of protein spiking – when plaintiff’s testing allegedly suggests that it does.  On a motion to dismiss, Musclepharm argued that the FDA has primary authority over this area and FDA labeling regulations preempt state law claims.  On August 11, 2015, the district court rejected those arguments.  Bruaner v. MusclePharm Corp., No. CV148869FMOAGRX, 2015 WL 4747941, at *1 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 11, 2015).  The court agreed with plaintiff that plaintiff’s case was not challenging the FDA labeling or testing protocols per se, but rather, was challenging what Musclepharm states in its advertising about those tests.  Plaintiff did not have a complete victory, however.  The court took exception to plaintiff’s vague descriptions of advertising and websites that he claimed to have relied on in making his purchase decisions – thereby limiting the scope of plaintiff’s proposed case and class.  With both parties winning some and losing some of their arguments at the Rule 12(b)(6) stage, the matter settled.  Because the proposed settlement was pre-certification, the court did not need to review or approve the proposed – the parties filed a stipulation to that effect and the matter was dismissed on September 28, 2015.