cookiesinheaven

The first Salmonella lawsuit has been filed in the pair of Salmonella outbreaks that has sickened 155 people in 21 states. The lawsuit was filed against Yum! Brands (the parent company of Taco Bell) in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Franklin County Circuit Court. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Scott county resident by food safety law firm Marler Clark.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released information in early August that they had been tracking two Salmonella outbreaks linked to an unnamed Mexican Fast Food chain, which was later identified as Taco Bell. As of August 1, the outbreak of Salmonella Hartford had sickened 75 people in 15 states since April 1, and the outbreak of Salmonella Baildon had sickened 80 people in 15 states since May 1.

“We’ve been involved with two prior food poisoning outbreaks at Taco Bell,” said attorney and food safety advocate Bill Marler. “In 2000, there was a hepatitis outbreak in green onions at the chain, and in 2006 an E. coli outbreak sickened many patrons. My hope is that these two experiences will lead Yum! Brands to step up quickly to address the needs of their customers who have been infected with Salmonella.” - MarlerClark

Labels: CDC, food poisoning, food safety, Lawsuit, salmonella, Vegetables

Famed New Orleans chef and cook book author Susan Spicer has filed a class action lawsuit against British Petroleum, Halliburton, and Transocean, Ltd. Entered in New Orleans Federal Court, the suit asks for both compensatory and punitive damages - as yet unspecified -- for the harm that has resulted and will result due to the oil spill at BP's Deepwater Horizon undersea well, which occurred on April 20.

As quoted by the New Orleans Times-Picayune on its nola.com blog, the suit says "The massive oil slick created by the continuing discharge of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico has caused or will cause injuries and damages to the Class to the extent that the seafood industry will be closed and the sustainable natural resource of the fishery will be greatly harmed and/or destroyed. Simply put, the oil slick and continuing discharge of crude oil is an ecological and economic disaster for Plaintiff." - Village Voice and NOLA.com

Labels: celebrity chefs, Cookbooks, Lawsuit, New Orleans

The Coney Island Drive Inn, a restaurant in Brooksville, Florida, has been selling 12-inch hot dogs -- the restaurant calls them "footlongs" -- for more than 40 years. Its Web site is gotfootlongs.com.

Last week, the restaurant got a letter from a lawyer representing Subway, which, as you may have heard, sells 12-inch sandwiches for five bucks.

After explaining that Subway "has applied for the trademark FOOTLONG (TM) in association with sandwiches," the letter says:

You are hereby put on notice to cease and desist from using FOOTLONG (TM) association with sandwiches. You must immediately remove all references to FOOTLONG (TM) in association with sandwiches.

(The full letter is online here.)

Labels: Lawsuit, restaurants, Subway, trademarks

An L.A. law firm has announced via this press release that they have filed a class action lawsuit against the chain and "on behalf of all purchasers of a certain so-called 'frozen yogurt' product made and/or marketed by Yogurtland International, LLC ("Yogurtland")" - OCWeekly

Yogurtland has been slapped with a class-action lawsuit which alleges that they are being a bit shady when it comes to how they name, make, and serve their "frozen yogurt." - LAist

Labels: bloggers, FauxYo, Lawsuit, unsanitary, yogurt

Labels: Lawsuit, Organic, Whole Foods

The Federal Trade Commission documents revealed that Whole Foods plans to close 30 or more Wild Oats stores, a move that the company believes would nearly double revenue for some Whole Foods stores.

The FTC also revealed how Whole Foods negotiates with suppliers to drive up costs for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Regulators also discussed the company's closely held marketing strategies.

Regulators are trying to block the deal on antitrust grounds, arguing that it would mean higher prices for organic and natural food. A judge is considering whether to temporarily block the deal.

Many of the details in the documents, which FTC lawyers filed electronically, were not meant to be released publicly, but words intended to be redacted were actually just electronically shaded black. The words could be searched, copied, pasted and read in versions downloaded from court computer servers.

...With Tuesday's filing, the FTC threw open the window. Among the details cited in the government filing:

-- The opening of a Whole Foods store can cut revenue 30 percent or more in nearby Wild Oats stores.

-- Whole Foods set "ground rules" barring suppliers from selling directly to Wal-Mart. "It wants Wal-Mart to have to go through distributors because that raises Wal-Mart's costs," the document said.

-- Company documents labeled "Project Goldmine" predicted that buying Wild Oats and shutting down certain stores would increase revenue 85 percent to 90 percent at nearby Whole Foods stores.

-- Education is key to the site selection for a new Whole Foods store. "As a company, we look at college graduate density. That's one of the single most important things," the government quoted a company official as saying.

-- The takeover will send as many as 80 percent to 90 percent of Wild Oats shoppers to Whole Foods stores, according to Whole Foods documents cited by the government. "As a result, they will unambiguously be worse off," because of increased prices, the FTC argued. - AP

Labels: FTC, Lawsuit, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods