General Mills Inc agreed to stop calling the oats in its Nature Valley granola bars 100 percent natural to settle a lawsuit by three consumer groups that said the bars contained small amounts of glyphosate herbicide, commonly known as Roundup.

General Mills changing Nature Valley labels after lawsuit’s glyphosate claim

U.S. grocer Kroger wins dismissal of ‘farm fresh’ egg lawsuit
Kroger, one of the largest U.S. grocers, won the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming it misled consumers by using the familiar "farm fresh" label to describe eggs that came from caged hens in industrial settings.

New York sues meatpacking giant JBS over climate claims
Attorney general calls company's emissions goals 'infeasible'
JBS, the world's largest beef producer, was sued on Wednesday by New York state's attorney general, which accused it of misleading the public about its impact on the environment in order to boost sales.

Appeals court blocks California warning labels for glyphosate
Decision important in ongoing lawsuits, Bayer says
Reuters — A divided U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday said California cannot require businesses to warn consumers about the potential dangers of glyphosate, an ingredient in Roundup herbicide that has been linked to cancer. Upholding a permanent injunction, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco found it unconstitutional to force Bayer’s […] Read more

Bayer settles with New York over Roundup safety claims
Company blocked from advertising product as non-toxic
New York | Reuters — Bayer agreed on Thursday to pay US$6.9 million to settle claims by New York Attorney General Letitia James that it misled consumers by advertising Roundup, which has been linked to cancer, as environmentally safe. The settlement resolves accusations that Bayer and its Monsanto unit failed to substantiate their repeated claims […] Read more

U.S. judge dismisses indictment against Huawei executive
Related charges remain against company
New York | Reuters — A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed an indictment against Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, formally ending a criminal sanctions case that strained U.S.-China and Canada-China relations. Meng, whose father Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei and is the telecommunications company’s chief executive, entered an agreement with U.S. prosecutors […] Read more

Smithfield Foods to pay US$75 million in pork price-fixing settlement
Follows similar settlement by JBS
Reuters — Smithfield Foods has agreed to pay US$75 million to settle a lawsuit by consumers who accused the meat producer and several competitors of conspiring to inflate prices in the $20 billion-a-year U.S. pork market by limiting supply. A preliminary settlement in the antitrust case was filed on Tuesday night with the federal court […] Read more

Tyson Foods ignoring subpoena for meat price gouging probe, NY attorney general says
New York | Reuters – Tyson Foods Inc TSN.N, one of the largest U.S. meat producers, is refusing to comply with a subpoena for a civil probe into possible price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic, New York’s attorney general said on Wednesday. Letitia James, the attorney general, asked a state judge in Manhattan to require […] Read more

U.S. EPA ordered to reassess glyphosate impact on health, environment
Decision doesn't prohibit Roundup's use
Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was ordered by a federal appeals court on Friday to take a fresh look at whether glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup herbicide, poses unreasonable risks to humans and the environment. In a 3-0 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with several environmental, farmworker […] Read more

JBS reaches ‘icebreaker’ settlement of beef price-fixing claims
Reuters — JBS has agreed to pay US$52.5 million to settle litigation accusing meatpacking companies of conspiring to limit supply in the $63 billion-a-year U.S. beef market in order to inflate prices and boost profit. The preliminary settlement by the Brazilian company and its U.S. units with so-called direct purchasers was disclosed on Tuesday, and […] Read more