Court Rejects CSPI Petition

Court Rejects CSPI Petition

WASHINGTONThe U.S. DistrictCourt for the District of Columbia denied a motion filed by the Center forScience in the Public Interest (CSPI) and Public Citizen (PC) seeking to alter ajudgment against them in a lawsuit challenging the Food and Drug Administrations(FDA) qualified health claims process for foods.

The court upheld the decision that CSPI and PC lacked standingto sue. The defendants in the Pearson v. Shalala case intervened on FDAs sideto defend the right of companies to make qualified health claims as consistentwith the Pearson decision.

CSPI and PC had maintained FDAs guidance on qualifiedhealth claims for foods would allow companies to promote health benefits withoutestablished scientific support and without meeting the standards of theNutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), thus leading to irreparableinjury to consumers. Its challenge to the lower courts dismissal of theircase was based on alleged procedural irregularities stemming from approval of aqualified health claim for walnuts. In its decision, the U.S. District Courtfound the plaintiffs failed to satisfy the burden that dismissal of the case wasbased on an error of fact or law.