The Indian state of Kerala, along with several other states, implemented a ban on Coca Cola and Pepsi colas after the companies refused to reveal their recipes to the government. On Friday, the High Court ruled that the ban was illegal and immediately reversed it, saying "state government had no jurisdiction to impose a ban on the manufacture and sale of [those] products. Only the federal government can ban food products."

Coke, Pepsi and fans of the two brands lauded the decision, but the top elected official in the state said he would attempt to get the ruling overturned.

The New Delhi research group, the Center for Science and Environment, was the original driving force behind the ban and wanted it reinstated, though a spokesperson did say that, since a significant number of food products produced in India contain pesticides, that alone was not the reason they targeted the cola companies. It was "because they account for nearly 80 percent of India's $2 billion soft drink market."

At this time, it seems unlikely that the court's decision will be reversed.

Cadbury Giant Fingers, a chocolate confection, have recently been under scrutiny for deceptive packaging, having been brought to court in England by an irate customer. He claimed that it was "fraudulent to suggest is bigger than it actually is." And, even more astonishingly, the court agreed and the company producing these candies (under license from Cadbury) was fined a total of £5,000, plus an additional £2,000 in costs.

If this guy thinks that the packaging for the Cadbury candies is bad, I have a couple of bags of potato chips that I think he should see. If he was shocked by the size of the Giant Fingers' packaging, clearly he doesn't spend much time at the grocery store. 

[Image Telegraph.co.uk]

Italy has some of the toughest animal protection laws in the world. Turin, the site of this year's winter Olympic games, actually has a law that imposes a fine if you fail to walk your dog three times a day. Given this, it's not all that surprising to hear that they are regarding lobsters with the same feelings most reserve for cats and dogs.

A restaurant in Vicenza, Italy, was fined $855 for attempting to subject a lobster to a prolonged death, though the restaurant owners had no direct intention of killing the creature. They were displaying the live lobster on ice as a promotion for their seafood business. The case was first brought to the Italian courts in 2002 when a former environmental activist took his two small children to the restaurant, where they were "shocked by the display."

Lobsters can live out of water for at least 24 hours and up to several days. They have a specialized gill that allows them to utilize oxygen from the air and, as the restaurant would have returned the lobster to its tank at the end of the day, the lobster would most likely have been unharmed by the ordeal.