This edition of Greenberg Traurig’s Consumer Compass highlights the pivotal shifts and emerging trends impacting the consumer products industry. Inside, we provide timely legal updates, strategic insights, and essential developments—curated to help empower business decisions and keep stakeholders informed in a rapidly changing market. Go North for regulatory updates; East for emerging risks; South for
Yesterday, March 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a memorandum titled COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program. This guidance comes at a time when the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has upended ‘business as usual’ throughout the country and the world. Consumers empty shelves of hand sanitizer, health care
On March 6, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly issued seven warning letters to companies making alleged unauthorized claims related to the prevention or treatment of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In addition to issuing the joint warning letters, the FDA issued a press release announcing the
On Feb. 20, 2020, roughly one year after announcing its comprehensive per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) action plan, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a preliminary regulatory determination under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for the two most-studied of the chemicals, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). This is the initial step
On May 20, 2016, the FDA announced that it finalized changes to the Nutrition Facts panel on the labels of packaged foods and beverages, as well as changes to the Supplement Facts panel on the labels of dietary supplements. The final regulations were published in the Federal Register on May 27, 2016. The final version
Despite positive reviews from the EPA and European Food Safety Authority, Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic compound used to line canned goods and other consumer products, was added to the Proposition 65 list on May 11, 2015, as a chemical known to cause reproductive toxicity. Effective May 11, 2016, private enforcers may bring lawsuits to
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently finalized two rules requiring that calorie information be listed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments, as well as on certain vending machines. In announcing the finalization of the two rules, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. stated that “Americans eat
In our February 12, 2014 post, entitled “Consumer Class Actions Trending From Attacking ‘All Natural’ to ‘Raw,’” we addressed whether claims challenging consumer product advertising as “all natural” were preempted in the absence of specific guidance from the FDA and the mixed results the argument has produced. In Ault v. J.M. Smucker Co. et al.
With summer around the corner, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reminding publishers, broadcasters, and other media of the ways to spot phony weight-loss claims when screening ads for publication. The reissued guidance entitled, “Gut Check: A Reference Guide for Media on Spotting False Weight-Loss Claims,” details seven weight loss claims that the FTC asserts
California isn’t exactly known as a business-friendly state. In some ways, the governor has tried to change that. He’ll have an interesting choice to make if a recently-passed senate bill reaches his desk. Last week, the State Senate Committee on Health passed a measure that would require health warning labels on beverages with added sugar,