With the regulatory path forward for hemp-derived CBD in foods and supplements no clearer a year after the FDA’s May 2019 public meeting, trade association The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has filed a citizen’s petition urging the FDA to regulate...
Children under the age of 2 years should avoid all added sugars in order to better make “every bite count,” according to the Dietary Guidelines advisory subcommittee tasked with creating the first ever dietary guidelines for children younger than 24 months....
Stevia specialist SweeGen has started commercial production of Reb B, a lesser-known and “highly soluble” steviol glycoside (stevia sweetener) that it says works particularly well in beverages.
MycoTechnology – which is building a functional ingredients platform utilizing mycelia, the filament-like roots of mushrooms - has raised $39m in a series D financing round from investors* including plant-based meat specialist Greenleaf Foods to Tyson...
Miyoko’s has upped the ante in its legal dispute with the State of California over the use of the term ‘butter’ on a plant-based product, urging the court to issue a preliminary injunction against state ag officials, who it claims are violating its First...
The FDA says it has made “substantial progress” in forging a regulatory path for ingestible CBD products, but has given no indication of when it might provide food and supplement makers with more clarity.
Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), the world’s largest private source of funding for food allergy research – has met with the FDA to share its concerns over the agency’s recent move to temporarily allow manufacturers to make minor formulation...
A citizen petition filed by The Sugar Association to the FDA is calling for “complete and accurate labeling of low- and no-calorie sweeteners on food packages,” which would require food manufacturers to add the term ‘sweetener' in parenthesis after...
Several high-profile lawsuits challenging the legal status of CBD products have been stayed (effectively put on ice until the FDA outlines a regulatory path forward for CBD in foods & supplements) or voluntarily dismissed in recent weeks.
The National Advertising Division has ruled that GSK must stop calling some of its Benefiber prebiotic supplements ‘100% natural.’ It’s a ruling that could be viewed as troublesome for other prebiotic ingredients.
Global ingredients company ADM and beef producer Marfrig have agreed to create PlantPlus Foods, a plant-based protein joint venture serving North and South American markets.
With many food manufacturers experiencing difficulties in sourcing some ingredients during the pandemic, the FDA is allowing temporary flexibility in food labeling requirements enabling them to make minor formulation changes without updating labels, provided...
The economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus has pushed many investors into a protective mode that precludes new deals, but raising capital during the pandemic still is possible – it just requires entrepreneurs to more clearly define their value...
As news continues to break about more workers at grocery stores and meat and poultry packing plants contracting coronavirus, consumer concern about employee health and their access to food and beverage during the pandemic is on the rise again after a...
The FDA, USDA and EPA have launched ‘Feed Your Mind’, a new Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative that aims to increase consumer awareness and understanding of genetically engineered foods (GMOs).
Higher costs associated with serving school meals to needy children during the coronavirus pandemic paired with reduced program participation are generating “crippling financial losses” that could compromise efforts to serve students next year unless...
While consumer interest in where food comes from and how it is produced has been growing in recent years, an organic industry leader says the coronavirus pandemic has turbocharged shoppers’ interest in local, organic and sustainably produced products...
The Organic Trade Association is calling on the US Department of Agriculture to help ease mounting pressure on the organic supply chain posed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by increasing flexibility for inspections and the disbursement of funds related...
While COVID-19 has upended the status quo for the entire food industry from growers and distributors, to retailers and consumers, it has also exposed the lack of resiliency within the food supply chain to handle something as disruptive as a global pandemic,...
Do essential businesses such as food manufacturers and retailers need some kind of liability shield to protect themselves from an anticipated wave of COVID-19-related personal injury litigation, or would this only encourage bad actors and deprive people...
Following recent high-profile claims that the food supply chain is buckling under pressure from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Consumer Brands Association is teaming with more than 35 trade associations to address long- and short-term challenges...
A lawsuit alleging CBD American Shaman falsely advertised its wares as containing no heavy metals “raises more questions than it answers,” says one attorney. But it also highlights the challenges facing CBD firms looking to differentiate themselves from...
The state of Texas has proposed rules for consumable hemp products that specify processing, testing, labeling and registration requirements. While the rules are characterized as reasonable and well thought out, they represent another patch in a state-by-state...
A judge has dismissed a worker safety lawsuit* filed by an unnamed worker at the Smithfield meat processing plant in Milan, Mo., on the grounds that such matters are for federal regulators, not local courts, to decide.
Kroger is purchasing 200,000 gallons of fluid milk from dairy farmers who have struggled to find new buyers to purchase their excess supply (much of which was originally destined for foodservice and schools before the pandemic hit). The milk will be redirected...
As tensions – and lawsuits – mount in the meat industry as plants balance the need to protect workers with pressure to maintain the nation’s food supplies, food trade associations have urged Congress to move to protect essential businesses from ‘unfounded’...
Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is teaming up with baby and kids food manufacturers, early childhood educators, and other key stakeholders under its 'Shaping Early Palates Initiative', which aims to disrupt the marketplace of childhood...
The same day that Tyson Foods warned in full page newspaper ads that the coronavirus pandemic may disrupt the US food supply chain unless the government creates a “comprehensive, thoughtful” strategy for meatpacking facilities to remain open safely, the...
The US Department of Agriculture is making it easier for low-income participants in the Women, Infant and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program to fill their grocery carts despite lingering shortages of program-eligible food staples due to panicked...
As measures designed to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic continue to flatten the economy simultaneously, many companies are making tough decisions to survive, including whether to pull-back on expansion plans, lay off employees, rationalize...
While the federal government has taken several steps in recent weeks to help feed low-income children during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a leading public health advocate argues more must be done to protect the one in 10 children facing food insecurity...
After discovering juice, juice drinks and flavored water labels and claims are “virtually indistinguishable” from one another, researchers recommend FDA revise labeling regulations for children’s beverages to help consumers make healthier choices.
While it is still too early to predict the long-term economic impact of measures designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Kroger Co. is bracing for the “high risk” that a recession is on the horizon by investing now in innovation and key partnerships,...
Public health advocates are lauding a federal court decision that strikes down a final rule published by USDA in late 2018 that they say rolled back nutrition standards for school meals, but which the School Nutrition Association says provided much-needed...
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has vetoed a bill that would have limited the use of the term ‘milk’ on food labels to the lacteal secretions of hooved animals.
There is currently no cure for coronavirus, however, that hasn’t stopped companies from preying on consumers’ fears, as a new raft of FDA warning letters makes clear.
“Three months ago, everyone was focused on the next wave of CBD users, people that haven’t tried CBD yet, but I really think it’s those heavy users, those core users, that are going to be driving this market over the next few months,” predicts the managing...
Perfect Day, a startup producing milk proteins via microbial fermentation (minus the cows), has secured a coveted 'no questions/objections' letter from the FDA in response to its Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) determination for 'non-animal'...
Days after the first reported coronavirus-related deaths of grocery store employees, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass) asked FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional guidance on how retail food workers and customers can protect...
A coalition of dietary supplement industry trade associations have come out in support of FDA actions against fraudulent coronavirus treatment claims and have urged retailers to not stock products with such claims on their labels.
The food industry has moved remarkably quickly to adjust to a sudden and spectacular shift in food consumption towards the home as America goes into lockdown. But there could be significant challenges ahead if more countries block food exports, while...
Concerned that not all customers are following the medical community’s repeated recommendations of social distancing, Walmart has put stricter measures in place across its stores.
Despite surging sales of milk, cheese and butter as consumers pantry-stock and prepare more meals at home amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, dairy producers are struggling as prices at the farm gate have plummeted, major markets have evaporated and...
The FDA is providing temporary flexibility on packaging and labeling requirements for eggs sold at retail so firms can redirect product designed for institutions and restaurants towards retailers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued another warning letter on COVID-19 claims. This one was issued to a Nevada company marketing CBD products.
The FDA is providing some temporary flexibility to food manufacturers and restaurants in regards to nutrition labeling so that they can sell certain packaged food products directly to consumers and retailers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regulatory uncertainty coupled with the fact that retailers are not focused on onboarding new brands right now make this a tough time for new CBD brands. However, e-commerce sales of hemp-derived CBD have spiked, while a new survey from Brightfield Group...