Tag Archives: CALIFORNIA

California Redefines “Beer” to Align with Federal Definition

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On July 9, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill (AB) 205, which redefines beer under California’s Alcohol Beverage Control Act.  AB 205 allows for beer to be produced with honey, fruit, fruit juice, fruit concentrate, herbs, spices, and other food materials. Under the prior California law, “beer” was defined as “any … Continue Reading

Bayer/Monsanto Hit Again With $2 Billion Verdict in Roundup Case

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This blog has closely followed litigation surrounding allegations that glyphosate has caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a number of plaintiffs. In March, a California jury awarded $80 million in damages to a plaintiff who used Monsanto’s Roundup on his 56-acre property. This verdict was the second significant glyphosate judgment against Bayer-owned Monsanto, following on the August 2018 … Continue Reading

California’s Proposition 65 Website Posts Styrene Fact Sheet

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California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has posted a fact sheet regarding styrene on its Proposition 65 warning website, also known as the Lead Agency Website. OEHHA listed styrene as a carcinogen under Proposition 65 on April 22, 2016, and on May 4, 2017, the state adopted a No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) for styrene of … Continue Reading

California Jury Awards $80 Million Verdict in Glyphosate Case

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A California plaintiff, who used Roundup on his 56-acre Santa Rosa property and alleged glyphosate caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, has been awarded $80 million by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.  The docket of the case, Hardeman v. Monsanto Co. et al., is available here (subscription required).  This … Continue Reading

San Francisco to Propose Banning Sale of E-Cigarettes

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The San Francisco City Attorney, in coordination with the City’s Board of Supervisors, announced on March 20, 2019 that it will introduce legislation to prohibit the sale and delivery of e-cigarettes in the City unless such products have been established as “appropriate for the protection of the public health” through the Food and Drug Administration … Continue Reading

FDA Publishes Findings from Investigation of Romaine Lettuce E. coli Outbreak

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As previously reported on this blog, in November 2018 FDA, in conjunction with the CDC, state officials, and Canadian food and public health officials, investigated an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections in multiple US states and Canadian provinces. The investigation determined the cause of the outbreak was the consumption of contaminated romaine lettuce. Indeed, … Continue Reading

Court Rules En Banc for Injunction Against San Francisco’s Health Warning Requirement for Soft Drink Ads

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  As previously covered on this blog, the City of San Francisco passed legislation in June 2015 that required health warnings to be placed on advertising for sugar-sweetened beverages (i.e., nonalcoholic beverages with caloric sweeteners that contain more than 25 calories per 12 oz.). Specifically, the warning would have read: “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added … Continue Reading

What to Know about California’s New Proposition 12 Requirements on Farm Animal Confinement

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During the November 2018 election, California voters passed a ballot initiative known as Proposition 12, which establishes new standards for confinement of certain farm animals and bans the sale of products that do not comply with the new confinement standards.  The ballot initiative amended an existing California Health and Safety Code section, Chapter 13.9 (“Farm Animal Cruelty”).  … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Justice Sides with California Against States Opposing Egg Production Standards That Require Room for Chickens to Move

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As reported here, Missouri and twelve other states asked the U.S. Supreme Court on December 4, 2018 to hear their challenge to provisions of the California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act that require any eggs sold in the state to come from hens that have space to stretch out in their cages. The plaintiffs … Continue Reading

California Proposes Amendments to Proposition 65 Regulation on the Responsibility to Provide Consumer Product Warnings

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In response to confusion regarding Section 25600.2 of the new Article 6 warning regulations, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed amendments to clarify how a product manufacturer—and other parties that may receive the products before the retailer—can pass warning information (and the responsibility to warn) along the supply chain and ultimately … Continue Reading

Proposed Amendments to Proposition 65 regulations on Calculating Level of Exposure to Chemicals Causing Reproductive Toxicity; California Extends Comment Period

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California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed to amend Section 25821(a) and (c) of the Proposition 65 regulations, which dictate how to calculate exposure to reproductive toxicants for average consumers.  Currently, Section 25821 requires simply that exposure be determined by multiplying the “level in question” (i.e., the concentration of a chemical in … Continue Reading

California Signs Bill Allowing Sale of Home-Cooked Food

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California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law on September 18, 2018 which will allow Californians to sell food they make themselves, a practice that was previously outlawed due to health concerns.  Assembly Bill 626, also known as the Homemade Food Operations Act, amends California’s Health and Safety Code to establish strict guidelines for … Continue Reading

FDA Issues Statement Regarding Labeling Coffee as a Carcinogen Consistent with California Proposition 65

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California Proposition 65 requires manufacturers to provide clear and reasonable warnings to consumers before exposing them to over 950 listed carcinogens, including acrylamide.  As reported in this blog yesterday, California’s regulations for reporting the presence of the carcinogens have changed.  Also as previously reported in this blog, producers of roasted coffee have been sued under … Continue Reading

New Proposition 65 Warning Regulations Take Effect Today

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As previously reported on this blog, in 2016 California passed new regulations redefining what makes a warning “clear and reasonable” under Proposition 65; those regulations become effective today.  Proposition 65 is a right-to-know law that requires manufacturers to provide a clear and reasonable warning to consumers before exposing them to over 950 listed carcinogens and … Continue Reading

California Passed Nation’s First Kids’ Meal Bill

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In another effort to limit consumption of sugary drinks, California passed Senate Bill 1192, the nation’s first statewide kids’ meal bill. The bill requires that water, sparkling water, flavored water, unflavored milk, or a nondairy milk alternative are the default beverage in kids’ meals, instead of soda or other sugar sweetened beverages. The bill does … Continue Reading

Putative Class Action Challenge to Diet Dr. Pepper in California Fails for the Fourth Time

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The Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has granted Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss (available for purchase here) in a putative class action originally filed in October 2017, which alleged that the marketing of Diet Dr. Pepper violated California’s False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and Unfair Competition Law, … Continue Reading

California Bill to Require Sugary Beverage Warning Labels Dies in Committee

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A bill that would have required warnings on the labels of sugar-sweetened beverages sold in California died in the Senate Appropriations Committee this month (Los Angeles Times). Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) introduced the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Safety Warning Act, AB 1335, in February 2018. AB 1335 would have banned the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in sealed … Continue Reading

California Court Rules Cereals Not Required to Bear Proposition 65 Warnings (Law360 Subscription Required)

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On Monday, July 16, a California appeals court reversed a decision that would have required food manufacturers to label cereal products with cancer warnings, as per Proposition 65. As we have previously written on this blog, Proposition 65 is a right-to-know law that requires businesses to provide warnings when they knowingly cause exposures to chemicals … Continue Reading

California Bans New Soda Taxes until 2030

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On June 28, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB1838, which prohibits local government agencies from imposing new taxes on “groceries,” which are defined to exclude alcoholic beverages, cannabis products, cigarettes, tobacco products, and electronic cigarettes.  The bill is widely seen as a ban on taxes on sugary drinks in particular. The passage of AB1838 is resulting in the withdrawal of Ballot Measure 17-0051, which … Continue Reading

California Coffee May No Longer Require Cancer Warnings

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On June 15, 2018, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposed a new regulation clarifying that cancer warnings are not required for coffee under Proposition 65. Proposition 65 is a right-to-know law that requires businesses to provide warnings when they knowingly cause exposures to chemicals that the state has listed as causing cancer … Continue Reading

California Court Upholds Labor Code Listing Mechanism in Monsanto Glyphosate Case

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A California Court of Appeals has rejected various arguments made by Monsanto Company, challenging the listing of glyphosate based on the Proposition 65 Labor Code listing mechanism, where carcinogens listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer are automatically listed under Proposition 65. The court did not agree that the Labor Code listing of … Continue Reading
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