While the pandemic has helped fuel a business boom for much of packaged food and beverage industry, not everyone in the sector has benefited – with women and female-run small businesses in particular taking a hard hit that could have devastating long-term...
Hain Celestial’s baby food brand Earth’s Best “picked up significant distribution” in the company’s third quarter despite a congressional report released in February alleged there are ‘dangerously high’ trace levels of metals in baby foods produced by...
Impossible Foods has applauded a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the FDA’s approval of soy leghemoglobin (aka 'heme') - the star ingredient in its plant-based burgers - as a color additive.
Industry-supported efforts to update organic food standards could finally move forward after being held at a standstill for years by the US Department of Agriculture if bipartisan legislation introduced in the House late last week becomes law.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has requested detailed information from four of the companies named in the recent Congressional report into heavy metals in baby food on their approach to monitoring inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal – the...
While adaptogens and nootropics are central to the calming and functional benefits of Moment’s trio of botanical beverages, they take a backseat in marketing, which focuses first on the behavior modifications and lifestyle the brand promotes – a strategy...
At least 69 lawsuits have now been filed against firms named in the recent Congressional Subcommittee report on heavy metals in baby food, prompting a legal wrangle over how best to handle the cases.
A report from a watchdog group found found that just 42% of CBD brands tested all their products for potency. Additionally, the vast majority of products tested were outside the limits of acceptable variance.
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) is “proving to be confusing as well as onerous for food manufacturers,” says FoodChain ID, which has just launched a compliance service* to help firms get their ducks in a row ahead of the January...
Nestlé Waters North America -- now BlueTriton Brands -- has been issued a Cease & Desist order by California's State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to cease 'unauthorized' water extractions from the San Bernardino National Forest,...
President Biden has signed into a law a food allergy labeling bill – The FASTER Act – requiring that sesame be labeled on all packaged foods beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
The US Department of Agriculture is asking for help conducting a “top to bottom assessment” of the US food system in an effort to avoid the empty store shelves, food waste at farms and destruction for animals due to broken supply chains experienced in...
Despite the interruption in civil litigation prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, “more new class action lawsuits were filed against the food and beverage industry—220* cases [+23% vs 2019]—than in any other year of the past decade,” according to an analysis...
Spencer Sheehan – a prolific plaintiff’s attorney in food litigation circles most recently making waves with a flurry of lawsuits over vanilla labeling – has turned his attention to flavored water, with a proposed class action alleging Whole Foods Market...
A St. Louis-based chiropractor and dietary supplement marketer faces monetary penalties for continuing to market vitamin D and zinc products that purport to prevent COVID-19 infections.
The US House of Representatives has voted on and passed a piece of legislation -- the FASTER Act -- that would make sesame the ninth ingredient subject to mandatory allergen labeling in the US. The bill now heads to President Biden to be signed into law....
Compliance with the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) – which requires firms with annual sales of >$2.5m to label ‘bioengineered’ foods, beverages, and supplements – is mandatory from January 1, 2022. So is the industry up to...
Under pressure to act in the wake of the recent congressional report into heavy metals in baby food, the FDA has unveiled a new action plan - ‘Closer to Zero – setting forth its approach to reducing exposure to toxic elements in foods commonly eaten by...
A recent paper claims FDA is in the dark as to how many new ingredients have come onto the market via the GRAS process. Only limited progress has been made in the decade since a Congressional report first raised the issue and directed the Agency to make...
Public health advocates are calling on FDA to require all children’s beverages to clearly label on the front of pack the amount of added sugar, non-nutritive sweeteners and juice in each product after research published today in Pediatric Obesity revealed...
The Plant Based Foods Association has slammed bills proposing restrictions on the use of terms such as ‘milk’ and ‘meat’ on food labels and restaurant menus in Wisconsin, while state lawmakers insist they are urgently required to prevent consumer confusion....
With traditional fishing methods in decline, aquaculture – the industrial farming of fish, shellfish, and other aquatic species – is on the rise, but with little knowledge of the impact it’s had on animal welfare, says a team of researchers at New York...
The state of Colorado aims to remain a leader in the hemp industry, Gov. Jared Polis said at an industry event last week. He announced the release of a detailed state plan for the industry at the meeting, which includes scientific support, data sharing,...
The Baby Food Safety Act – just introduced to Congress in the wake of a House Subcommittee report alleging ‘dangerous’ levels of heavy metals in baby foods - sets maximum levels for lead, mercury, cadmium, and inorganic arsenic that are well below internal...
Provisions of the recently signed American Rescue Plan that acknowledge and seek to right systemic racism perpetuated by the US Department of Agriculture and others against generations of Black US farmers will benefit the entire agriculture sector, USDA...
The Organic Trade Association is optimistic it could reach a “potential amicable resolution” in its ongoing lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture for the withdrawal of the widely popular Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices final rule during...
The ABV threshold at which kombucha switches from a non-alcoholic beverage to what is effectively 'beer' for tax purposes is currently set at 0.5%. The KOMBUCHA Act, reintroduced to Congress by Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) and Senator...
Colorado-based ValidCare has announced the preliminary findings from its industry-sponsored, decentralized human safety study of hemp derived CBD products, with the data indicating no liver toxicity.
The US Departments of Agriculture and Education are making it easier for Americans suffering food insecurity due to the pandemic to put food on the table by temporarily increasing and expanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits as part...
Functional Beverages Webinar Available On Demand Now
Shifting shopping habits and channel preferences due to the pandemic hit the non-alcoholic beverage industry hard last year, leading to an overall decline in volume and value, but rising consumer interest in functional options could be a key driver in...
Baby food companies named in a recent Congressional Subcommittee report are now facing at least 43 lawsuits about heavy metals in their wares, according to plaintiffs seeking to consolidate all of the cases in New York.
Sales of functional beverages are rebounding and have a bright future despite the pandemic shutting down for most of 2020 in-person impulse purchases and food service sales which previously drove the category’s fast growth, according to market research...
Twin bills reintroduced in the House and Senate yesterday would reverse Trump-era waivers allowing higher-speed slaughter lines and prohibit new waivers to increase line speed during the pandemic on the grounds that they hinder social distancing and could...
With the pandemic’s impact on the economy and food insecurity in America expected to outlast the threat of the current coronavirus, stakeholders are calling on legislators to rethink how food and funds through nutrition programs are disbursed – changes...
Yesterday the Natural Products Association testified in favor of a California bill to regulate the CBD trade in that state. NPA and others, however, have reiterated a call for federal legislation that would forestall the growing patchwork quilt of state...
USDA’s announcement this week to extend free school meals through the summer – and possibly the end of the next school year – ensures students are fed even if pandemic-related safety measures keep them at home, but it doesn’t alleviate increased financial...
As more local governments mandate “hazard pay” increases for some grocery store employees, more retailers are shuttering “underperforming” stores that can no longer financially sustain increased costs associated with operating during the pandemic.
Recent news reports about the marketing of products featuring Delta-8 THC as a prominent constituent have muddied the waters enough that the US Hemp Roundtable felt it necessary to clarify again what should—and shouldn’t—be called a hemp product.
Under a bill just passed in the US Senate, sesame would become the 9th food subject to mandatory allergen labeling in the US from January 1, 2023, accelerating a process already set in motion by the FDA that food allergy advocacy groups claim would have...
‘Cell-cultured’ may be the best way to label seafood grown from animal cells in bioreactors, according to key stakeholders in the nascent industry, who have teamed up with the National Fisheries Institute to share their views with the FDA.
Under pressure to act in the wake of the recent congressional report into heavy metals in baby food, the FDA says it will issue "guidance to identify action levels for contaminants in key foods," as lawsuits against baby food brands pile up,...
A sharp increase in the Consumer Brands Association’s membership in 2020 underscores how the trade group’s “pro-consumer, pro-growth agenda” is helping it regain the trust and support of the CPG industry, including some companies that left the organization...
A judge has given a tentative green light to a $15m settlement between Post Foods and consumers who accused the CPG giant of misleading shoppers by falsely advertising sugary cereals as healthy. The news follows another high-profile settlement reached...
The agriculture supply chain is long overdue for an overhaul, as illustrated by breakdowns early in the pandemic, the rising threat of climate change, and increasing pressure to feed a growing population, but the question of who will foot the bill remains...
Lawsuits are piling up against companies cited in a recent Congressional report into heavy metals in baby food. But how might courts decide if these complaints have legs, and what can be reasonably expected from food manufacturers given that the FDA has...
Food allergy advocacy group, FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), has launched an action plan to broaden treatment, care, and education about food allergies, addressing systemic inequities when it comes to accessing these resources.
New US Department of Agriculture leadership optimistically is committed to launching a “a new era of climate smart practices” and “equity and fairness” in food and ag that will remove barriers, rebuild rural America, tackle climate change and control...
As the pandemic nears the one-year mark, food and beverage companies face increased pressure to maintain new consumers gained during the pandemic while also engaging additional shoppers over record household penetration increases in the last year – a...
In the wake of the recent congressional report into heavy metals in baby food, the FDA says its goal is to reduce exposure to toxic elements in foods through research and collaboration, but has not said if it plans to issue guidance on upper limits for...
