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Tea Parties Certified for Class Action
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Goodbye to the UKCA Mark. Lifespan of the EU’s CE Mark Extended Indefinitely by the UK Government
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It’s the final countdown…or is it?: CMA issues decision on online pressure-selling tactics
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Does your Marketplace need to be “INFORM-ed” by June 27th?
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K&L Gates’ Verticals Predictions for 2023: Top Trends, Opportunities and Pitfalls
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Breakthrough FDA Decision: Agency Completes Its First Pre-Market Consultation for Human Food Made From Cultured Animal Cells
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FTC and NLRB Enter into an Information Sharing Agreement as a Likely Precursor to New Enforcement Activity
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FDA Updates Regulatory Definition of “Healthy” for the First Time Since 1994
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QR Code and Text Messaging Alone Are Insufficient to Disclose Bioengineered Food Ingredients
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Kind, LLC Wins a Decisive Victory in an “All Natural” Case When Plaintiffs Failed to Prove that Reasonable Consumers Had A Specific Understanding of “All Natural” That Rendered Kind’s Labels Misleading

Tea Parties Certified for Class Action

By: Conor J. Mannix

On July 31, 2023, the Central District of California granted class certification in a false advertising lawsuit against tea-maker R.C. Bigelow, Inc.[1] The suit alleges that Bigelow’s tea labels, which state “Manufactured in the USA 100%,” either intentionally or negligently misrepresent the origins of the tea because the tea itself is primarily grown internationally, and at least partially processed abroad before being packaged in the U.S.

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Goodbye to the UKCA Mark. Lifespan of the EU’s CE Mark Extended Indefinitely by the UK Government

By: Arthur Artinian, Gabriela da Costa, Georgina Rigg, and Maya Ffrench-Adam

On 1 August, the UK government announced that it would extend use of the EU’s Conformité Européene (CE) mark for certain products placed on the market in Great Britain indefinitely.

This is an abrupt change from the intended plan of phasing out use of the EU’s CE mark and replacing it with a new British version known as the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark by the end of 2024.

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It’s the final countdown…or is it?: CMA issues decision on online pressure-selling tactics

By: Arthur Artinian, Gabriela da Costa, Georgina Rigg, and Maya Ffrench-Adam

Countdown clocks are a useful feature of digital advertising. Think “Sale ends midnight!” accompanied by a clock counting down the minutes you have left to make an order. When used correctly these urgency claims can help drive interest in a sale. However, they can also easily become misleading and breach UK consumer protection laws.

These types of “urgency claims” include scarcity, popularity, act fast, or time limited claims and have recently come under the spotlight of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”).

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Does your Marketplace need to be “INFORM-ed” by June 27th?

The New INFORM Consumers Act Could Significantly Impact Online Marketplace Operations

By:  John ReVeal, Judie Rinearson and Katie Staba

The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (the “INFORM Consumers Act” or “Act”) (https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s936/BILLS-117s936is.pdf ) which passed on December 29, 2022 will come into effect on June 27, 2023.  Originally intended to address increasing consumer complaints about online marketplace purchases of counterfeit or defective products from third party sellers, the Act requires both collection, verification and, in certain cases, disclosure of third party seller information to combat this perceived marketplace unaccountability.

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K&L Gates’ Verticals Predictions for 2023: Top Trends, Opportunities and Pitfalls

By: Gabriela da CostaJennifer P.M. MarshDr. Annette Mutschler-Siebert, M. Jur. (Oxon)Francesco CarloniMichal KoconNikolaos Peristerakis

It has now been six months since the new vertical distribution laws came into effect in the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK). With many consumer brands starting 2023 looking for ways to shore up their resilience and profitability in a challenging market, our EU and UK Antitrust and Competition Law team has jotted down our thoughts on the trends that have gained the most traction under the new rules, big opportunities up for grabs, and lessons learned on pitfalls to avoid.

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Breakthrough FDA Decision: Agency Completes Its First Pre-Market Consultation for Human Food Made From Cultured Animal Cells

By: Natalie Rainer, Alexa Sengupta

On 16 November 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had completed its first pre-market consultation for “human food made from cultured cells,” also known as “cell-based” foods.[1] “Human food made from cultured animal cells” refers to growing animal cells  in a controlled environment to produce food without sacrificing animals.[2] 

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FTC and NLRB Enter into an Information Sharing Agreement as a Likely Precursor to New Enforcement Activity

By: Gene Ryu, Katie Staba & Jonathan Rue

In light of the NLRB’s recent change to independent contractor rules, recent midterm elections and a focus on workers’ rights on many ballots, this article revisits an agreement between agencies that went largely unnoticed earlier this year. 

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FDA Updates Regulatory Definition of “Healthy” for the First Time Since 1994

By: Natalie Rainer, Alexa Sengupta          

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”)[1] that updates the definition of the “healthy” nutrient content claim under 21 C.F.R. § 101.65(d) for the first time since its issuance in 1994. The Proposed Rule, published on September 29, 2022, notes that “nutrition science has evolved since the 1990s” and that the proposed changes are intended to make the regulation “consistent with current nutrition science and Federal dietary guidance.”[2]

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QR Code and Text Messaging Alone Are Insufficient to Disclose Bioengineered Food Ingredients

By: Natalie E. Rainer and Amy Wong

Due to a recent decision in the Northern District of California, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be required to revise current electronic and text message disclosure options under its Bioengineered (BE) Food Labeling Rules, also known as the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS or Standard). Plaintiffs successfully argued that these methods of disclosure did not meet Congress’s requirement that these methods be adequately accessible to consumers.

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Kind, LLC Wins a Decisive Victory in an “All Natural” Case When Plaintiffs Failed to Prove that Reasonable Consumers Had A Specific Understanding of “All Natural” That Rendered Kind’s Labels Misleading

By: Matthew G. Ball

Energy bar-maker Kind, LLC (“Kind”) has won a decisive victory in a multidistrict litigation matter pending in the Southern District of New York.  In re Kind LLC “Healthy and All Natural Litigation”, No. 15-MD-2645 (NRB) (September 9, 2022) (“Order”).  In the Kind Order, the district court made various rulings – of which the consumer class action defense bar should take note.  Before the Court were Kind’s Motions for Summary Judgment, to exclude Plaintiffs’ experts, and to decertify the class.  Kind ran the table, with the Court granting all three motions, and giving defense counsel a roadmap to victory in similar cases.  

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