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News headlines

AquaBounty Technologies CEO: Opponents have ‘consistently and intentionally misrepresented the facts’ on GMOs

The boss of AquaBounty Technologies - which has spent years waiting for the FDA to decide whether to approve its genetically engineered (GE) salmon - says the tortuous process “has already had a chilling effect on research and investment in this field in the US”.

Listeria blamed for US smoked salmon recalls

Listeria monocytogenes contamination continues to drive a wave of US smoked salmon recalls.

Runaway Omega-3 beverage demand ‘can be scary’ – Virun CEO

Virun CEO Philip Bromley tells Ben Bouckley about the firm’s evolution from drug delivery technology into the beverage sphere, and explains that DHA and EPA Omega-3 oils dominate functional demands from clients.

Special edition: Reformulation

The lowdown on commodity prices, what they mean for food prices in 2013, and why 2012/13 is not going to be a repeat of 2007/8

“While you can look at one specific cost and you can say it's gone down, I could give you a story for another raw material where it's gone up”, observed Unilever’s chief financial officer Jean-Marc Huet when asked about commodity prices during the firm’s latest earnings call.

Ex BPI employee sues Jamie Oliver and ABC News for ‘reckless’ reporting on lean finely textured beef

Former Beef Products Inc. employee Bruce Smith has filed a lawsuit against Jamie Oliver; ABC News; two ABC news anchors Diane Sawyer and Jim Avila; and blogger Bettina Siegel; alleging that they “willfully” made false statements about lean finely textured beef (LFTB) that caused him and 750+ colleagues to lose their jobs.

FDA faces lawsuit over food animal antibiotics data

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is suing the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for withholding data on the sale of antibiotics for use in food animals.

E.coli in waterways not always from livestock, say USDA scientists

E.coli found in local waterways is often runoff from urban areas and not from animal production facilities, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

News in brief

HACCP measures must be reassessed due to salmonella outbreaks, says USDA

Producers of not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) ground chicken and turkey must reassess their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) due to recent salmonella outbreaks, said the USDA.

Study finds bacterial contamination in majority of US pork products tested

A majority of pork samples tested by Consumer Reports magazine were found to be contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica, a organism that can cause food poisoning.

Partial fractionation could improve energy efficiency

How eco-friendly are meat analogues?

Many meat analogues derived from plant proteins may have environmental impacts comparable to animal protein because of inefficient water and energy use in their production, according to associate professor of Food Process Engineering at Wageningen University Atze van der Goot.

Premature slaughter of herds because of drought helped the new company.

Ramping up innovation key message in Hillshire's strong earnings report

Hillshire Brands Co. reported strong earnings in its first quarter as an independent company, reporting net income of $53 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 that ended Sept. 29.

Kansas company launching ALA-enhanced ground beef

A Kansas company has taken the next step in omega-3s fortification by developing a way to boost the levels of n-3 fatty acids in beef.

Z Trim corn fiber gears up for Prop 37 as FDA approves its use in meat products

Z Trim, a food additive made from corn fiber, has been approved by FDA for labeling on ground, emulsified and processed meats and poultry, the company has announced.

News conference featured Joe the Pig.  Photo courtesy Consumers Union.

Group asks Trader Joe's to sell only antibiotic-free meat

A group delivered a petition to Trader Joe’s via a news conference outside one of the food retailer’s stores in New York City yesterday to ask that the chain stop selling meat that had been raised with antibiotics.

Campbell's to close plants in California, New Jersey

Campbell Soup Company has taken steps to cut costs and reallocate manufacturing capacity in light of volume declines in the canned soup business in the United States, the company announced Thursday.

On October 1, Kraft will split into two publicly traded companies: Kraft Foods Group, an $18.7bn North American packaged foods giant with a portfolio of brands including Kraft, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Planters and JELL-O; and Mondelēz International, a $36bn global snacks company with brands including Cadbury, Jacobs, LU, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Tang and Trident.
Big interview: Russ Moroz, VP Research Development & Quality, Kraft Foods

Kraft VP: There is no silver bullet on sodium reduction

Kraft Foods has made significant cuts in sodium across its portfolio - and is currently working on “proprietary approaches to take this work to the next level” - but there is “not yet a silver bullet in the toolbox”, admit R&D chiefs at the firm.

Cargill: 'We found that in a month’s time the issue was in consumers’ rear view mirror and fading fast'

Some customers are interested in reintroducing finely textured beef post ‘pink slime’ debacle, says Cargill

Some customers have expressed an interest in re-introducing finely textured beef (FTB) to their ground beef products after a media storm over ‘pink slime’ prompted many to drop it earlier this year, says Cargill.

AMI: “BPI is exercising its right to seek recourse from ABC for the unprecedented and, in our view, unbalanced coverage, of this safe and nutritious beef product."

Beef Products Inc: We were an American success story… until March 7, 2012

The true extent of the financial and human catastrophe that engulfed lean finely textured beef (LFTB) maker Beef Products Inc (BPI) as a result of the 'pink slime' media storm is spelled out in detail in the 263-page defamation lawsuit filed yesterday against ABC News.

Beef Products Inc files defamation lawsuit v ABC News over 'pink slime' reports: 'Our world was turned upside down'

Lean finely textured beef maker (LFTB) Beef Products Inc. has filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News alleging its “false and disparaging" news reports about ‘pink slime’ defamed its products and proved “catastrophic” to its business.

Organic produce is no healthier or nutritious, finds review

Organic produce offers no benefits over conventional farming methods when it comes to nutrition and health, according to the findings of a new wide ranging review of the evidence.