Maggie Craig
SociaMaggie Craig focuses her practice regulatory, compliance, and civil litigation with a specific emphasis on food, beverage, nutrition and dietary supplements, consumer products, food and consumer product recalls, corporate compliance, and consumer fraud class actions. Maggie also has experience with direct defense of aging services facilities in lawsuits asserting professional liability, personal injury, negligence, elder abuse, wrongful death and other related claims.
As Co-Chair of DLA Piper's Global Consumer Goods, Food and Retail Sector, she represents national and international manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and brands of food, beverage, dietary supplements, alcohol, hemp/CBD, cosmetics, clothing retailers, children's products, and a wide variety of general consumer products. Her clients range from start-ups to multi-nationals. She also advises clients on issues regarding regulatory compliance in the context of chemicals and contaminants, including as it relates to restricted substance lists (RSLs), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). She also has international in-house experience, working abroad in Amsterdam, Netherlands as international regulatory and compliance legal counsel for a multi-national food company.
Maggie has hands on, in-depth experience navigating food and nutrition industry trends, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulations. She also has extensive experience with the scientific substantiation landscape related to product benefit statements, including health claims, structure function claims, qualified health claims and product formulations.
As in-house counsel, Maggie served as international legal counsel to more than 40 business units with particular emphasis on building and executing corporate compliance initiatives and related compliance matters, as well as extensive regulatory advising and risk analysis for US product benefit statements claims covering products ranging from baby food to adult dietary supplements.
Maggie's training in Nutrition and Food Studies from New York University, combined with her litigation, regulatory and international in-house experience, provides her with great insight into food and dietary supplement-related litigation and regulatory matters as well as national and international corporate compliance matters.
EXPERIENCE
- International Legal and Regulatory counsel for infant foods division in a multi-national food company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, focusing on regulatory and compliance matters across more than 40 business units worldwide
- Regulatory advising and label claims risk assessment for multi-national food company's infant foods, toddler foods/follow on formulas, cereal bars and adult dietary supplements, including a variety of FDA regulations including use of vignettes, structure function claims, disease claims, nutrient content claims, "natural" claims, gluten free claims and other product benefit statements
- Regulatory advising and coordination with TTB regarding alcohol importer's permit application for foreign entity importing products through US subsidiary
- Regulatory advising, classification assessment and label review for malt beverage and beer products
- Regulatory advising and coordination with TTB regarding tobacco manufacturer’s amended permit application due to change in control, involving international parent company and complex corporate structure
- Representation of international wine manufacturer related to recall of foreign manufactured wine bottles containing glass particles
- Regulatory advising and label claims risk assessment for multi-national food company's infant foods, toddler foods/follow on formulas, cereal bars and adult dietary supplements, including a variety of FDA regulations including use of vignettes, structure function claims, disease claims, nutrient content claims, "natural" claims, gluten free claims and other product benefit statements
- Regulatory advising and risk analysis for yogurt products regarding compliance with FDA regulations and use of terms such as "fresh"
- Regulatory advising and risk analysis for company providing organic food kits, including a various USDA regulatory implications, organic claims, CGMPs, HACCP and food facility requirements
- Regulatory advising regarding bottled water label requirements and label claims
- Regulatory advising regarding country of origin labelling and Tariff Act implications for imported frozen vegetable products
- Representation of international supplier of stevia and sweetener products involving alleged false advertising of "all natural" claims, resulting in supplier not facing class action litigation
- Representation of international cinnamon roll retail food establishment involving international recall of cinnamon roll products due to peanut contamination in supplier’s flour
- Representation of pretzel/hot dog distributor regarding presence of foreign metal and plastic particles in pretzel dog products
- Representation of international sweetener manufacturer involving crisis management and recall considerations for potential biohazard contamination of foreign manufactured sweetener product, including coordination with multiple international governmental authorities during respective investigations
- Regulatory advising and risk analysis for international sweetener manufacturer regarding packaging and labelling compliance under FDA regulations for stevia product
- Regulatory advising and risk analysis for lactation dietary supplement product, including analysis of organic claims, natural claims, gluten free claims, nutrient content claims and labeling for pre-specified groups
- Regulatory advising and analysis for national restaurant chain regarding menu labeling laws and compliance with USDA regulations for meat, poultry and organic claims
- Regulatory advising and analysis of nutrition labeling requirements for company offering food kits designed for children, including "cottage law" implications
- Regulatory advising for international clothing retailers regarding a variety of compliance matters, including national plastic bag ordinances, retail price verification laws and restricted substances
- Representation of international clothing retailer related to CPSC recall efforts involving lead in children's products and related import/export and product detention implications for foreign manufactured products
- Representation of Canadian clothing retailer related to importation and recall negotiations with CPSC regarding certain adult and children's clothing products with compliance concerns
- National counsel and team member for Bayer regarding alleged false advertising of One-A-Day Men's Health Formula and One-A-Day Men's 50+ multivitamins in three separate litigations, resulting in one extremely favorable settlement in Ohio; one dismissal via defeat of class certification in South Carolina; and a detailed 83-page opinion granting summary judgment for Bayer in California (Johns v. Bayer Healthcare, LLC, 2013 WL 1498965)
- Defense of international supplier of stevia and sweetener products involving alleged false advertising of "all natural" claims, resulting in supplier not facing class action litigation
- Defense of manufacturers of glucosamine products in consumer fraud, unfair competition and false and misleading advertising class actions
- Defense of Bayer's One-A-Day WeightSmart in multiple jurisdictions involving allegations of false advertising
- Defense of food and beverage manufacturer in consumer fraud class action regarding probiotic fruit beverage products, resulting in extremely favorable injunction-only terms and no damages paid by defendant
- Defense of a major oil pipeline company against allegations of soil and groundwater contamination and related environmental remediation, resulting in summary judgment win for client
- Defense of a public transportation company following a train collision resulting in mass tort litigation
- Pro bono representation of a social security applicant before Social Security Administration; obtained favorable judgment enabling the client to receive social security disability benefits during a defined recovery period
- Pro bono defense of an individual in a property contract dispute; successfully negotiated settlement
- Pro bono representation of a family of Haitian national applicants seeking asylum in the United States based on persecution for political opinions, resulting in full grant of asylum
- Pro bono representation of a Mexican national applicant seeking asylum in the United States based on persecution for sexual orientation
- Extensive involvement with managing and coordinating large scale electronic discovery, document review and document productions
- Español
- J.D., Brigham Young University
- B.S., Nutrition and Food Studies, New York University 2006, magna cum laude
Awards
The Legal 500 United States
- Recommended, Cannabis (2021, 2024)
- Recommended, Dispute Resolution Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Consumer Products (including Tobacco) (2021)
Additional Awards
- Named a Cannabis Law Trailblazer by the National Law Journal (2022)
Bylines
- Co-Author, "Advising Food Company Executives at a Time of Increase Regulatory Risk," Today's General Counsel, Aug-Sept, 2017
- Co-Author, "2-49 Corporate Compliance Practice Guide § 49, Specific Corporate Compliance Challenges," Industry: Food, LexisNexis, 2016 - 2022
- Co-Author, Defeat on Washington I-522 GMO Labeling, November, 2013
- Co-Author, DLA Piper Secures Victory for Bayer in 0 Advertising Class Action, April, 2013
- Co-Author, FDA Declines to Define "Natural," January, 2014
- Co-Author, Review of Key Cases and Settlements in 2013, and a Look Ahead to 2014,"All Natural" Presentation, Food & Drug Law Institute Food Advertising Conference, November 6, 2013 (New York, NY)
- Co-Author, How to Defend Against Deceptive Packaging and Labeling Claims: What to Do if there is No Settlement In Sight, American Conference Institute Food & Beverage Consumer Fraud Litigation Conference, January 28, 2014 (San Francisco, CA)
Memberships And Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- American Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute
- Food and Drug Law Institute
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers
- San Diego County Bar Association
