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Journal of Food Law & Policy

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Full-Text Articles in Consumer Protection Law

Dietary Supplements And Structure-Function Claims: The Dysfunctional Structure Of Current Regulation, Matthew W. Lindsey Dec 2009

Dietary Supplements And Structure-Function Claims: The Dysfunctional Structure Of Current Regulation, Matthew W. Lindsey

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Twenty percent of Americans report using one of the more than thirty thousand dietary supplement products generated by an estimated one thousand manufacturers, contributing to an industry exceeding twenty billion dollars globally. Fueled by increasing public interest in individual health, dietary supplement manufacturers in the United States (U.S.) continue to exploit the weaknesses in the way the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates these products. Dietary supplement manufacturers perpetuate the perceived safety of supplements through the advertisement of structure-function claims, which many consumers mistakenly assume to be the same as FDA-regulated health claims.

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European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch Dec 2009

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In June 2009, citizens of the European Union elected a new European Parliament. Some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were reelected while some were not. The majority party is the EPP, the Group of the European People's Party, and the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats has the second majority of the seats. The elections were still governed by the Treaty of Nice, since up until very recently, the future of the Treaty of Lisbon was still uncertain. The Treaty of Lisbon was up until now rejected by a few Member States, who, by their reluctance …

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United States Food Law Update: Food Allergy Labels, Reaching Organic Equivalence, Misbranding Litigation And Regulatory Takings, A. Bryan Endres, Michaela N. Tarr Dec 2009

United States Food Law Update: Food Allergy Labels, Reaching Organic Equivalence, Misbranding Litigation And Regulatory Takings, A. Bryan Endres, Michaela N. Tarr

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The start of 2009 found the nation transitioning to a new presidential administration, speculating on the impact new appointees to the executive branch may have on regulatory priorities and monitoring a bill' making its way through Congress that seeks a substantial overhaul of the food regulatory system. This version of the Food Law Update will analyze two major developments in food allergy labeling: finalization of rules requiring the labeling of Cochineal extract/ carmine and an analysis of the proposed "gluten-free" product labels. The update next discusses the execution of an equivalency agreement between the United States and Canada with respect …

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Whatever Happened To Old Mac Donald's Farm… Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, Factory Farming And The Safety Of The Nation's Food Supply, Julie Follmer, Roseann B. Termini May 2009

Whatever Happened To Old Mac Donald's Farm… Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, Factory Farming And The Safety Of The Nation's Food Supply, Julie Follmer, Roseann B. Termini

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Today, livestock farming is a far stretch from the nostalgic notion of animals grazing in green pastures, roaming free in the fresh country air and returning at the end of the day to a cozy barn. Simply stated, livestock farming is a large scale business, where tens of thousands of animals are swiftly raised industrial-style for maximum profit. Under the "factory farm" model, large corporate owned operations grow quantities of animals for slaughter for human consumption as food. In fact, livestock farms now raise 40% of all animals in the United States.

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Equalizing The Playing Field: The Time Has Come For Secondary Meaning In The Making In Small Restaurant Trade Dress Infringement Cases, John Pesek May 2009

Equalizing The Playing Field: The Time Has Come For Secondary Meaning In The Making In Small Restaurant Trade Dress Infringement Cases, John Pesek

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Imagine it is opening day for your first restaurant. It has taken months, if not years, to get to this point and you have spent a lot of money in developing the menu, artist style, and feel for the restaurant. A few months after the opening of your restaurant, a competing restaurant, right down the block from your restaurant, opens its doors; its menu and overall look are virtually indistinguishable from your restaurant. You are left wondering what remedies, if any, you have as a small restaurant owner. This was the case for Chef Rebecca Charles and her Pearl Oyster …

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United States Food Law Update: Pasteurized Almonds And Country Of Origin Labeling, A. Bryan Endres May 2009

United States Food Law Update: Pasteurized Almonds And Country Of Origin Labeling, A. Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The last six months of 2008 found the nation occupied with a heated presidential election campaign and the transition to a new party's control of the executive branch. The outgoing president, as is often the case in the waning months of an administration's time in office, attempted to finalize several policy initiatives. This version of the Food Law Update will discuss two major developments with significant long-term impact on the law of food: the implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for most unprocessed agricultural commodities; and the increasing use of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural …

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European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch Dec 2008

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The European Union (EU) is facing major institutional challenges because Ireland rejected the Treaty of Lisbon last summer. The Treaty of Lisbon aims at modifying the institutional framework of the EU; more precisely, it aims in part at modifying the interaction of the various EU regulatory bodies with one another, as well as the interaction between the EU regulatory bodies and the national ones. The next few months will be decisive in determining whether the Treaty of Lisbon will finally replace the Treaty of Nice.

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Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese Dec 2008

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2008. This update primarily analyzes regulatory and policy developments by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm. As this is the first Canadian update to appear in the Journal of Food Law & Policy, it is appropriate to include a brief summary of the Canadian regulatory framework for food. The regulatory framework provides the necessary context to identify trends driving recent changes in Canadian food law and policy.

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European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch May 2008

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The following European Union Food Law Update will address significant changes in European Union (EU) food law that occurred between 2006 and early 2008. The update will be different from the previous ones, as it will instead be organized by the subject areas addressed by the developments. The published regulations, proposals, cases, and other relevant news will thus be incorporated under their corresponding topic headings.

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United States Food Law Update: Food Safely Planning, Attribute Labeling, And The Irradiation Debate, Bryan Endres May 2008

United States Food Law Update: Food Safely Planning, Attribute Labeling, And The Irradiation Debate, Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This article summarizes significant changes and developments in food law throughout the second half of 2007. The previous edition of the Food Law Update noted the recent increase in imported food and the resulting stress placed on food safety agencies and customs officials. Detailed inspections of every food shipment entering the United States would quickly exhaust limited agency resources and cripple efficient international trade of food products. On the other hand, after several well-publicized food scares and the ongoing threat of international contamination, the public increasingly demands high levels of physical surveillance. As a part of this ongoing discussion, this …

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Beetles For Breakfast: What The Fda Should Be Telling You, Kaycee L. Wolf Dec 2007

Beetles For Breakfast: What The Fda Should Be Telling You, Kaycee L. Wolf

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Imagine sitting down to breakfast and eating strawberry yogurt with a glass of grapefruit juice. You think you are eating a healthy meal, but along with vitamins, calcium, and nutrients, you are getting a side of crushed beetles. Cochineal extract and carmine, two color additives derived from the cochineal beetle, color many foods such as strawberry yogurt. When people consume products with color additives, most do not realize that they could be ingesting insects, which can also be potentially dangerous, not to mention possibly unappetizing or upsetting. Imagine that one minute you are sitting down to eat a healthy cup …

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United States Food Law Update: Labeling Controversies, Biotechnology Litigation, And The Safety Of Imported Food, A. Bryan Endres Dec 2007

United States Food Law Update: Labeling Controversies, Biotechnology Litigation, And The Safety Of Imported Food, A. Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This update summarizes significant changes and developments in food law throughout the first half of 2007. Out of necessity, not every change is included; rather, this update is limited to significant changes in national law. This series of updates provides a starting point for scholars, practitioners, food scientists, and policymakers determined to understand the shaping of food law in modern society. Tracing the development of food law through these updates also builds an important historical context for the overall development of the discipline.

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European Union Food Law Update, Nicole Coutrelis May 2007

European Union Food Law Update, Nicole Coutrelis

Journal of Food Law & Policy

On December 23, 2006, the European Commission published Commission Directive 2006/142/EC "amending Annex IlIa of Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council listing the ingredients which must under all circumstances appear on the labelling of foodstuffs" in regard to Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 20, 2000, "on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs."' "Annex IIla of Directive 2000/13/EC lists the ingredients which must under all circumstances appear on the labeling of foodstuffs ... " and the new Directive …

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Safe But Not Wholesome: The Troubling State Of Trans Fat Regulation, Ross Williams May 2007

Safe But Not Wholesome: The Troubling State Of Trans Fat Regulation, Ross Williams

Journal of Food Law & Policy

On March 7, 2007, the New York Times reported that Starbucks, the retail coffee chain which sells millions of baked goods every day from its over 8,700 U.S. stores, had asked its suppliers to eliminate all trans fats from their products by the end of the year. The big story for New York readers, though, was not that Starbucks was requiring the elimination of trans fats from its baked goods. In fact, New York City had just passed an ordinance strictly limiting the use of artificial trans fats, the type present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO), by virtually all …

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Harvey V. Veneman And The National Organic Program: Can Organic Be Synthetic?, Jennifer C. Fiser May 2007

Harvey V. Veneman And The National Organic Program: Can Organic Be Synthetic?, Jennifer C. Fiser

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The market for organic products has increased dramatically in the United States and across the world in recent years.' Since 1997, sales of organic foods have grown from 15% to 21% per year, and while organic foods accounted for only 2.5% of total food sales in the United States in 2005, those sales amounted to $13.8 billion.

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Defying Nature: The Ethical Implications Of Genetically Modified Plants, Debra M. Strauss May 2007

Defying Nature: The Ethical Implications Of Genetically Modified Plants, Debra M. Strauss

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Genetic engineering is changing the semantics, the meaning of life itself. We're trying to usurp the plant's choice. To force alien words into the plant's poem, but we [have] a problem. We barely know the root language. Genetic grammar's a mystery.... We've learned a lot about the letters-maybe our ability to read and spell words now sits halfway between accident and design - but our syntax is still haphazard. Scrambled. It's a semiotic nightmare.

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United States Food Law Update, A. Bryan Endres May 2007

United States Food Law Update, A. Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Michael T. Roberts and Margie Alsbrook noted in the Journal's inaugural Food Law Update that "[t]he one constancy about food law in the United States is change, especially in a rapidly-developing food industry." This observation holds true today and also augurs a change in authorship of this section of the Journal. I hope to follow my colleagues' lead and provide timely and cogent updates of the federal (and occasionally state) statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions impacting food law and policy. It is both an honor and a duty, as food and its legal implications remain in many respects "the world's …

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European Union Food Law Update, Nicole Coutrelis Dec 2006

European Union Food Law Update, Nicole Coutrelis

Journal of Food Law & Policy

On March 31, 2006, the European Commission published Council Regulation (EC) No. 510/2006 On the Protection of Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs. This new regulation repealed Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2081/92 On the Protection of Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs mainly to bring Community law into conformity with the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and the findings of a recent WTO panel. Under the new Regulation, persons in third countries (non-European Union members) are entitled to address applications for the protection of geographic names and statements of objection …

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United States Food Law Update, Michael Tingey Roberts, Margie Alsbrook Dec 2006

United States Food Law Update, Michael Tingey Roberts, Margie Alsbrook

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This update summarizes some of the significant changes and developments in food law over the first half of 2006. Not every change in food law is included; instead, this update provides a starting point for scholars, practitioners, food industry members, and policymakers determined to understand the shaping of food law in modern society. Tracing the development of food law through these updates, which appear in each issue of the Journal of Food Law & Policy, also provides historical context for the development of significant food law issues over time. New developments in state law, while certainly important and deserving in …

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Creating Balance: Problems Within Dshea And Suggestions For Reform, Jennifer Akre Hill Dec 2006

Creating Balance: Problems Within Dshea And Suggestions For Reform, Jennifer Akre Hill

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) was signed into law on October 25, 1994. At the signing, President Clinton endorsed the "intense efforts" of manufacturers and legislators to change the "treatment of dietary supplements under regulation and law." Further, the bill was signed with the hope that it would benefit consumers by permitting more access to dietary supplements and more choices for consumer directed healthcare. In support, politicians on both sides of the aisle claimed the DSHEA as a victory for consumer freedom, populist protection, and preventative medicine.

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European Union Food Law Update, Nicole Coutrelis May 2005

European Union Food Law Update, Nicole Coutrelis

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The purpose of this update is to present the main events that have taken place each six months in the food law sector in the European Union (E.U.). This presentation will cover June through December 2004, but is not exhaustive. This update will not include detailed discussions of regulations, such as authorizations of new additives for animal feed or registrations of new geographic names. Instead it will concentrate on fundamental topics and focus on food, which excludes from our scope questions regarding the management of agricultural products (Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP). However, some questions which legally pertain to the …

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United States Food Law Update, Michael T. Roberts, Margie Alsbrook May 2005

United States Food Law Update, Michael T. Roberts, Margie Alsbrook

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The one constancy about food law in the United States is change, especially in a rapidly-developing food industry. Innovations in food technology, shifts in popular culture and tastes, concerns of safety and nutrition, pressures from international markets, all contribute to the changing landscape of food law. These changes are reflected in new federal statutes, regulations, administrative decisions, and judicial decisions.

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