Consumer Victory in California Courts
The Supreme Court of the State of California yesterday issued a decision in the Farm Raised Salmon Cases (under the umbrella listing S147171), overturning a California Court of Appeal ruling. California citizens sued various grocery stores alleging the stores violated California’s Sherman Law labeling requirements by selling artificially colored farmed salmon without labeling it as ‘color added’ as required by law.
Attorney Kevin Golden of the Center for Food Safety (which filed a Friend of the Court brief in this case) said, “We applaud the California Supreme Court’s ruling. At issue is whether the people of California have the right to know what’s in their food. California citizens’ right to enforce California food safety law, where the federal government is failing to do its job, has been vindicated.”< The suits - filed against several California grocery chains - were most recently dismissed by the California Court of Appeal, which ruled that federal labeling law preempts citizen enforcement of equivalent California state laws aimed at protecting human health and safety. The California Supreme Court’s ruling concluded that the lower courts erred in taking away the citizens’ right to enforce California ’s crucial food safety law.
The suit focused on two chemical dyes applied to farmed salmon sold in supermarkets (without the pink dyes, the farmed fish would have appeared grey in color). The artificial dyes, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, pose significant health risks. These dyes have been linked to several human health problems, including impaired vision and retinal damage, cancer, and hyperactivity in young children.
“This ruling represents a significant win for consumers,” continued Golden. “It increases accountability in the food industry to the people of the state, and it empowers individual consumers to demand accurate and honest labeling on the food they feed their families. The California Supreme Court has affirmed the consumers’ right to know what’s in their food.”
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT REVERSES LOWER COURT ‘S JUDGMENT IN FARM RAISED SALMON CASES - Center for Food Safety Applauds the Decision, which Vindicates Consumers’ Right to Know - Washington, DC February 12, 2008
Sources: Kevin Golden, Center for Food Safety, (415) 826-2770 and Kathryn Inman , Goodman Media, (212) 576-2700
Feb 14th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Thanks for this, bf. I have never appreciated dyes in food, and feel they serve no purpose. I’ll go out of my way to get undyed yogurt or juice, and the salmon thing is just disgraceful. Let’s hope that CA’s ruling trickles down (or up, or over) to the rest of us. OT-your headers just keep being so beautiful! I’m imagining this one is much like where you live.
Feb 14th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
I do not want anything added to and therefore contaminating my food. I feel that all consumers have the right to know what’s in their food, who put it there and why it was added. I’m glad that California court has upheld that consumer’s right to this information. I hope the same thing happens throughout America.
Thanks for the header compliment. :-)
Feb 15th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Congratulations are in order then! But more than the ruling, I’m more impressed by the actions undertaken by the citizens of California. If only more consumers were that health conscious and willing to fight for their right to know what they’re eating. At least, they’re not just being spoon fed. In this case, literally. They make their own decisions with their food and make sure they’re eating the right stuff.
Feb 16th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Hi Jen,
Thanks for commenting. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. IMHO knowing what’s in our food should be a basic right, not a privilege.