Food Safety & Labeling

Downey Brand’s Food Safety and Compliance Group provides comprehensive, full-service support to help clients navigate the often-complicated world of food safety and labeling compliance.

Our food law attorneys have extensive practical experience with issues of daily importance to farmers, ranchers, input suppliers, packers, processors, manufacturers, and grocers, allowing our clients to focus on the weighty demands of their operations.

Our lawyers understand that food safety and labeling are technical, continuously evolving legal fields, and we are active participants, as well as advisors, to industry trade groups, associations, and their members who must deal each and every day with the specific concerns of specialized industries. We regularly interact with the agencies that regulate the industry and the legislative committees that work to determine future laws.

Our food safety compliance lawyers comprehensive approach reflects the reality of today’s Food and Ag industry—a thriving, highly-regulated industry with complex business needs.  Our attorneys both advise and litigate on a broad spectrum of issues, including:

  • Food Safety Modernization Act and related regulations
  • FDA labeling regulations
  • Supply contract disputes
  • Pesticide residue regulations
  • Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act
  • Land use and environmental regulations, including Prop 65
  • California Department of Food and Agriculture licensing
  • Regulatory compliance and administrative disputes, including writ proceedings
  • Food processor licensing
  • Federal Bioterrorism Act
  • License suspension and revocation hearings
  • Crop damage
  • Water quality
  • Wastewater regulation
  • International trade
  • Product recalls

Our food safety and compliance lawyers understand that ensuring a safe food supply is important to both our clients and their customers, and we work together as a team to ensure that both lives and livelihoods are protected.


Selected Experience

  • Draft production and supply contracts for many growers, packers, and processors to ensure compliance with most up-to-date federal and state food safety regulations.
  • Provide industry feedback and participate in federal comment process essential to Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation.
  • Represent food industry clients in false advertising, California Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (Sherman Law), product liability, Business and Professions Code 17200/17500, and Prop 65 cases, including class actions.
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  • Draft production and supply contracts for many growers, packers, and processors to ensure compliance with most up-to-date federal and state food safety regulations.
  • Provide industry feedback and participate in federal comment process essential to Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation.
  • Represent food industry clients in false advertising, California Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (Sherman Law), product liability, Business and Professions Code 17200/17500, and Prop 65 cases, including class actions.
  • Represent clients and negotiate settlements for cases brought by local District Attorneys and the Attorney General as part of the Food, Drug, and False Advertising Task Force.
  • Represent livestock and egg farmers in actions filed by animal welfare advocacy groups.
  • Provide guidance to clients regarding recall procedures, liability, and compliance.
3 Attorneys

John C. McCarron

Partner

Sacramento 916.520.5450

Professional headshot of attorney, Katlyn Nelms

Katlyn K. Nelms

Associate

Sacramento 916.520.5268

Dale A. Stern

Partner

Sacramento (916) 520-5250

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