News can come at you fast in the food industry, so today, Im going to provide a few quick updates on two stories Ive been following recently in our blog.
Story 1: The Tale of Cook Countys Sweetened Beverage Tax
Brief: Cook County, IL, sought to institute a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, but had to fight a long road of legal battles to actually implement the law.
Update: Walgreens and McDonalds are being sued over implementation of the sweetened beverage tax in Cook County, IL. Walgreens is accused of taxing magnesium for bowel movementunsweetened beverages and McDonalds reportedly added the beverage tax to the subtotal of orders before calculating other sales taxes, which, in turn, results in overcharging of taxes, reported Chicago Tribune (Aug. 8).
Meanwhile, Cook Countys Board President is halting efforts to charge the Illinois Retail Merchants Association $17 million in damages for seekisisu cal mag citrateng to block the sweetened beverage tax. Toni Preckwinkle claimed the associations suit would cost the county $17 million in possible revenues, but the petition for damages was dropped after the Appellate Court rejected the emergency motion to stop the tax, reported Crains Chicago Business (Aug. 8).
Story 2: Egg Contamination Scare Has Potential to Unravel European Market
Brief: The pesticide fipronil was detected in Dutch-sourced Eggs in the EU, and various health agencies and retailers have been simultaneously trying to trackcalcium citrate chews the outbreak, its source, and remove contaminated eggs kirkland calcium citrate magnesium zincfrom retail shelves.
Update: Dutch authorities knew that eggs in the Netherlands were contaminated with fipronil as early as November, and failed to notify their European partners, according to Belgiums Agriculture Minister Denis Ducarme. Belgiums food safety agency has calcium citrate 600official documents indicating the presence of fipronil in Dutch eggs as early as the end of November 2016.
The Dutch food safety authority had no immediate reaction to the Belgian ministers comments. A European Commission spokesman said the Commission would follow up on the allegations, reported The State (Aug. 9).