The Senate recently passed the Country of Origin Labeling Online Act (COOL Online Act) with overwhelming bipartisan support. Currently, U.S. law requires that external packaging for many products state the product’s country of origin. The uptick in online shopping and the sale of imported products, however, has increased interest in requiring country of origin disclosures
Colorado Passes Privacy Bill: How Does it Stack Up Against California and Virginia?
The Colorado Legislature recently passed the Colorado Privacy Act (“ColoPA”), joining Virginia and California as states with comprehensive privacy legislation. Assuming Colorado Governor Jared Polis signs the bill (SB 21-190) into law, ColoPA will go into effect on July 1, 2023.
How does the measure stack up against the VCDPA and the CCPA
Florida Takes Page Out of TCPA’s Book with New Legislation
The Florida legislature recently passed CS/SB 1120 updating and significantly expanding the state’s existing telemarketing laws, the Florida Telemarketing Act and the Florida Do Not Call Act. Many of the new provisions are similar to the TCPA, including, most importantly, adding a private cause of action for any violations of the Florida Do Not Call Act and requiring prior express written consent for automated or prerecorded calls or texts. If the bill becomes law, it will go into effect on July 1, 2021.
Under the existing Florida Do Not Call Act, callers are prohibited from making telephonic sales calls using “an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers” unless (i) the call is in response to a consumer-initiated call, (ii) the numbers are unlisted or have been scrubbed against the state Do Not Call list, or (iii) the calls relate to goods or services previously ordered or purchased. This Act does not include exemptions from the definition of “telephonic sales calls.” The Florida Telemarketing Act determines licensure, call timing, identification, and recordkeeping requirements, among others, and includes a number of exemptions.
Continue Reading Florida Takes Page Out of TCPA’s Book with New Legislation
Smart (CA) TVs Are Listening: California Assembly Passes Voice Recognition Device Bill Headed to Senate
Smart (CA) TVs Are Listening: California Assembly Passes Voice Recognition Device Bill Headed to Senate
The California Assembly recently passed AB-1262 updating an existing law to further limit the use of personal information collected through connected TVs and smart speaker devices. Specifically, the bill prohibits:
- Operating a voice recognition feature of a connected TV or
Food Industry Regulatory and Litigation Highlights – March 2021
Welcome to our selected regulatory and litigation highlights impacting the food and beverage industry in March 2021. The food court saw its own brand of March Madness with disputes over food delivery fees kicking off this month’s update.
Litigation Developments
Hidden Delivery Fees
A number of suits were filed in March regarding undisclosed delivery fees.
Dietary Supplement and Personal Care Products Regulatory Highlights – February 2021
Welcome to our monthly roundup of regulatory and litigation highlights impacting the dietary supplement and personal care products industries. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the read. February was a short month, with a lot going on.
Health claim substantiation was front and center before NAD in a monitoring case involving Pendulum Therapeutics and a “medical probiotic” product featuring claims such as “The only medical probiotic clinically shown to lower A1C & blood glucose spikes for the dietary management of T2D*” (*Consult your physician as part of your total diabetes management plan. Results may vary from person to person.”)
The advertiser submitted a 12-week multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (the “Perraudeau Study”) to assess Pendulum Glucose Control’s safety and effectiveness in improving glycemic control in Type 2 diabetics and, ultimately, their dietary management of the disease – specifically, the role of certain probiotic strains found in prior research to be associated with the promotion of a healthy gut microbiome through the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
The advertiser also provided clinical studies and research articles demonstrating the roles of A1C, fasting glucose and postprandial glucose levels in managing Type 2 diabetes. The advertiser also referred to the FDA’s Guidance document (Diabetes Mellitus: Developing Drugs and Therapeutic Biologics for Treatment and Prevention) to demonstrate what level of reduction in HbA1c was clinically meaningful.
While NAD expressed some concerns about the evidence, ultimately, NAD determined that the Perraudeau Study was a good fit for the challenged claim “The only medical probiotic clinically shown to lower A1C & blood glucose spikes for the dietary management of T2D*” (*Consult your physician as part of your total diabetes management plan. Results may vary from person to person.”) but recommended the following modifications: (1) limiting the claim to individuals who are taking metformin; (2) modifying the claim to clarify that the product can be used as part of the dietary management of type 2 diabetes; and (3) removing the references to percent reductions in blood glucose spikes in the absence of evidence in the record demonstrating that the reductions were clinically relevant.
This decision is a helpful discussion of the competent and reliable scientific evidence standard. Anyone seeking to understand health claims substantiation better should check it out.
Continue Reading Dietary Supplement and Personal Care Products Regulatory Highlights – February 2021
What’s Next Following Enactment of Maryland’s Advertising Tax?
On February 12, 2021, the General Assembly of the State of Maryland enacted legislation imposing the Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, overriding a prior veto of the legislation by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. The Act imposes a tax, at rates of up to 10%, on gross revenues “derived from digital advertising services in the state.”
California Voter Initiative: Labeling Genetically Engineered Foods
On November 9, 2011, the Committee for the Right to Know, a consumer advocacy group that focuses on consumer, public health, environmental, and food issues, submitted the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the California state attorney general for title and summary–a necessary step needed to place citizen-created initiatives on the California
New Food Safety Law Sets the Stage for Industry Participation in Numerous Rulemakings
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law on January 4, 2011, requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to undertake sweeping regulatory action to strengthen the safety of the nation’s food supply. Many of the items on FDA’s “to do” list require significant and swift action. Over the next two years, FDA must
Illinois Enacts New Law Governing Employer’s Use of Credit History
On August 10, 2010, Illinois enacted H.B. 4658, the Employee Credit Privacy Act, which governs the use of credit information for employment purposes. The new law makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to:
- Fail to hire or recruit, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an individual because of the individual’s credit history;
- Inquire