This month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into major grocery chains’ use of chemical pesticides on produce labeled “organic” by the manufacturer. Paxton’s  office expressed concern that the grocery chains may be deceiving consumers who base their purchasing decision on the belief that organic produce has not been treated with pesticides.

Texas AG Investigation into Organic Produce

Before labeling produce as certified “organic,” a manufacturer must comply with regulations issued by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including limits on synthetic substances and pesticides. Central to the investigation is Produce Maxx, a chlorine-based pesticide commonly used in grocery stores. Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permits Produce Maxx to be sprayed on produce and considers it safe to consume, the USDA requires certified “organic” produce to have chlorine pesticides rinsed off before consumption.Continue Reading Texas Attorney General Probes Pesticide Use on “Organic” Produce at Grocery Chains

Texas’s amended telemarketing registration law takes effect on September 1. Although the law is not new, the legislature expanded it to apply to text messages. Under Texas’s existing law, a company that makes telephone solicitations to or from Texas must obtain a registration certificate for each business location where it makes those telephone solicitations. Until now this requirement applied to outbound calls, but beginning September 1 it will also apply to outbound marketing text messages.

Certain types of entities and telephone solicitation activities are exempt from the registration requirement, such as communications soliciting food sales; soliciting businesses to purchase items for resale; soliciting former or current customers; and telephone solicitations for purchases that will be completed at in-person sales presentations.Continue Reading Compliance Deadline of September 1 for Companies Sending Texts: Telemarketing Registration in Texas