Food safety and labeling

Introducing the FOOD FOR KIDS 2020 virtual summit: From kids and the plant-based trend to dietary guidelines for infants and toddlers

29-Sep-2020 By Elaine Watson

School closures – and tentative re-openings – have compounded stress levels for families, while COVID-19-induced economic anxiety is also straining household budgets. So how can food and beverage brands come up with enticing – but affordable – recipes,...

Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference

CPG companies strategize how to maintain new consumers, market share as pandemic sales normalize

10-Sep-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

As record high sales from the early days of the coronavirus pandemic level out at rates significantly lower than March and April but still higher than last year, CPG companies are trying to reassure investors that they can hold on to new customers and...

Retail strategies to support Black-owned businesses, tap into $1.5 trillion buying power of Black shoppers

09-Sep-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Retailers interested in attracting more Black shoppers, who Nielsen reports wield an annual buying power of $1.5 trillion and make more grocery trips per year than all other racial groups, need to stock and prominently highlight more products by Black-owned...

5 strategies to engage with online shoppers

'Winning at shelf' is less important than 'winning at couch'

04-Sep-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Once considered a top priority for a food or beverage brand’s success, ‘winning at shelf’ is now only “somewhat important” as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic reshapes how consumers plan and shop for groceries and how manufacturers and retailers engage...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How can industry help feed students returning to school online & in person

31-Aug-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

As many schools negotiate how to teach children safely during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they also must navigate how to feed them – a challenge that will require creativity and cooperation from regulators, legislators, and school nutrition professionals...

Hormel warns of lower inventory, stresses maintaining supply chain, production efficiency is ‘critical’

26-Aug-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

After months of meeting heightened consumer demand related to coronavirus pantry stocking and increased at-home consumption, SPAM and Skippy manufacturer Hormel Foods could face inventory shortages in the fourth quarter if additional outbreaks at facilities...

House Ag Committee requests relief for ranchers, specialty crop farmers & seeks investigation of cattle industry amid pandemic

10-Aug-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Members of the House Agriculture Committee are demanding USDA take a closer look at and provide additional relief for the coronavirus pandemic’s “disproportionate toll on farmers and ranchers,” and the specialty crop sector.

USDA proposes stricter oversight, enforcement of organic to better detect, prevent fraud

05-Aug-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Responding to increasing fraud threats to the organic industry, the US Department of Agriculture seeks to strengthen oversight and improve the transparency and traceability of organic food through a four-prong plan that praises and mirrors actions already...

Talkwalker report reveals shifting consumer preferences and pain points

04-Aug-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Evolving shopping habits brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are remolding consumer needs, and food brands must build new connections with their customers by paying close attention to new emerging issues, pain points, and desires that matter most to their...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Baby food doesn’t have an ‘added sugar problem’ it has a ‘too much sugar’ problem

03-Aug-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s recent recommendations that children under 2 years avoid all added sugar to ensure they consume the nutrients they need without excessive caloric intake may not go far enough to drive a significant change in...

Sen. Booker targets corporate consolidation in agriculture for ‘fundamentally broken’ US food system

29-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Decrying the US food system as “fundamentally broken and worsening the challenge of justice in our country,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is on an mission to block and dismantle corporate consolidation in agriculture, which he argues places profits over...

NEWS IN BRIEF

Albertsons reports 21.4% total sales growth and 276% surge in e-commerce sales in Q1 2020

27-Jul-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Retailer Albertsons, owner of Safeway and Jewel-Osco, reported a 21.4% increase in sales to $22.8bn for the 16 weeks ended June 20, 2020 compared to $18.7bn for the same period last year.

Better visibility in storage containers cuts waste, improves margins, creates more flexible food system

24-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

By using wireless sensors to detect subtle changes in the quality of stored crops, the CEO of California-based startup Centaur Analytics says food and beverage companies will be better able to ensure supply chain continuity in the face of “unique or random...

Experts and health organizations call for ‘stronger, better-funded’ federal nutrition research

23-Jul-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The US must strengthen and increase funding for federal nutrition research to accelerate critical discoveries, and most importantly, improve public health, say a group of research, policy, and government experts in a new report.

General Mills CEO: Sustained sales must be earned with solutions to ‘real problems’ in the kitchen & society

17-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Ongoing social distancing requirements, the resulting recession and a rediscovery of the joy of cooking and baking will help sustain some, but “certainly not all,” of the surging sales enjoyed by many CPG food and beverage brands since the coronavirus...

Americans need to more than halve their consumption of added sugars, says Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

15-Jul-2020 By Elaine Watson

Americans need to more than halve their consumption of added sugars, reducing average consumption from 13% of daily energy intake to just 6%, the equivalent of 30g for someone on a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet, according to the expert committee advising the...

FDA unveils 10-year FSMA implementation plan

14-Jul-2020 By Hank Schultz

The US Food and Drug Administration yesterday launched a website portal it calls a ‘blueprint’ for the full implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act. The document lays out a plan for actions over the next decade.

SHIFT20: 3 ways to ‘build back better’ a food-system damaged by social inequality & coronavirus

14-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

The uneven impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has underscored systemic inequalities, but it also has created an opportunity “to build back better” the food system, according to a panel of experts gathered on the opening day of the Institute of...

FDA to resume on-site domestic inspections

13-Jul-2020 By Danielle Masterson

After pausing on-site surveillance inspections in March, the Food and Drug Administration plan to resume domestic inspections starting the week of July 20.

Mintel: Consumers to adapt ‘less but better’ approach to animal proteins

10-Jul-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Animal proteins will become less of a center-of-the-plate staple for many consumers, according to Mintel, which attributes the shift to the ability to meet protein needs from a wider variety of sources, and ongoing concerns about food safety and price...

Stop & Shop accelerates online operations to meet record e-commerce demand

01-Jul-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

To support increased online shopping demand, Stop & Shop (part of Ahold Delhaize USA) is expanding same-day delivery, opening new warerooms (small fulfillment locations to serve online grocery customers), and adding more store pickup locations by...

SHIFT20: How the virtual IFT show will work…

29-Jun-2020 By Elaine Watson

Confused about navigating the virtual IFT show (Institute of Food Technologists' annual meeting and expo) next month (July 13-15)? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Corrine Calice, senior director, knowledge and learning experiences; and Susan Young,...

Consumers seek transparency online and in-store: FMI and Label Insight study

26-Jun-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

A majority (81%) of consumers say transparency is ‘important’ or ‘extremely important’ to them when shopping online and in-store, according to a new report by The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Chicago-based Label Insight.

FDA moves to keep coronavirus fears from interrupting ingredients trade

25-Jun-2020 By Hank Schultz

The US Food and Drug Administration says it will move actively to prevent the worldwide trade in dietary ingredients, food ingredients and whole foods from being restricted because of misplaced coronavirus infection concerns.

Food allergy consumers represent large untapped market opportunity: FARE study

22-Jun-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

US consumers managing food allergies spend more than $19bn annually on specialty food products free of the top nine food allergens, according to results of a two-year consumer study released by FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), the largest...

Norway squashes speculation that salmon was source of fresh Covid wave in China

17-Jun-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Norway’s seafood industry has hit back after China halted imports from European salmon suppliers after a new wave of coronavirus at a Beijing market was said to have entered the city via salmon.

Stress prevention replaces weight management as top health concern, creating marketing opportunity

16-Jun-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

For the first time in a decade, weight management is no longer America’s top health concern as anxiety and stress prevention and treatment rise to the No. 1 position of a long list of health conditions with which households are grappling, according to...

Label Insight report shows millions of dollars in missed opportunity for brands selling online

15-Jun-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Despite online grocery taking off in recent months, CPG brands may be leaving millions of dollars of missed revenue on the table by not highlighting key product attributes when they present their brands online, according to a report by Label Insight.

New directions at Nestlé as it explores sale of North American water brands

12-Jun-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Nestlé said it is exploring the potential sale of the majority of its Nestlé Waters North America unit, which includes regional spring water brands (Arrowhead, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Ozarka, Poland Spring, and Zephyrhills), its purified water business,...

CBD firms team up with CRO to conduct large scale safety study

10-Jun-2020 By Hank Schultz

A group of hemp/CBD purveyors have teamed up with a clinical research firm to conduct a large scale study to provide the safety data that the US Food and Drug Administration says it lacks.

Investing in the Future of Food: Patent protection is an essential first step ahead of fundraising

10-Jun-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

The high cost and opaque process of securing patents can be daunting for cash-strapped startups, but the CEO of the home hydroponic growing system GroPod advises entrepreneurs not give into the temptation to skip or delay this step until after fundraising.

Acosta: Consumers mixed on when grocery shopping will return to post-pandemic normalcy

01-Jun-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

While many states emerge from several weeks of shelter-in-place mandates and businesses begin to reopen, many consumers feel their usual shopping behaviors won’t return to “normal” for some time, an Acosta report revealed.

Gerber CEO: New single-material IncrediPouch is “designed for the future of recycling”

01-Jun-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

With last Friday’s launch of the first-of-its-kind, single-material baby food pouch, Gerber is one step closer to its ambitious goal to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 without compromising the convenience and safety that parents...

FDA grants temporary labeling flexibility for non-allergen minor ingredients

22-May-2020 By Elaine Watson

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...

Consumer concern for employee wellbeing impacts perception of food safety, access, research shows

21-May-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

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...

Will online shopping be the norm post-coronavirus? Not entirely, say Brick Meets Click and Symphony Retail AI

15-May-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The number of US households who reported shopping online for groceries rose dramatically in March when the pandemic hit, and stayed consistently high for the month of April, reveals new data from Brick Meets Click.

OTA asks USDA for funding flexibility, remote inspections and increased enforcement during pandemic

15-May-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

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...

Spoon Guru: Incumbent retailers should provide a hyper-personalized shopping experience

08-May-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

With the typical consumer managing an average of 3.3 individual dietary preferences and 64% of the world’s population following some sort of exclusion diet (Nielsen), grocery retailers will need to adapt their online and physical stores to provide a hyper-personalized...

NEWS IN BRIEF

Online grocery sales surge 37% in April to $5.3bn, finds Brick Meets Click

05-May-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Online grocery sales and store pickup orders reached $5.3bn in April, a record 30-day high and 37% sales increase from March, according to the Brick Meets Click/Symphony RetailAI Online Grocery Survey conducted in late April.

Emerging brands with ‘turnkey’ solutions more likely to win shelf space during coronavirus pandemic

05-May-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Emerging and regional brands with inventory and turnkey solutions could more easily win space on store shelves despite delayed category resets and formal reviews as retailers continue to grapple coronavirus-related disruptions and low fill rates from...

Hormel Foods reopens Illinois production facility after testing all employees for coronavirus

04-May-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Hormel Foods-owned Rochelle Foods is reopening its 400,000-square-foot plant in Illinois – which produces microwaveable and precooked bacon for foodservice and retail, deli hams, and Hormel Compleats microwaveable meals – after two weeks of temporary...

‘The homebody economy’: Consumers prepare for another four to six more months of coronavirus impact

23-Apr-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

As extensions and new inclusions have been made to many government-mandated social distancing policies, a majority of North American consumers indicate they expect the impact of COVID-19 will persist for up to six months, according to Nielsen.

Additional federal funding, access to protective equipment needed to feed children through schools

23-Apr-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

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...

Survey: Consumers ‘fearful’ and anxious when shopping at physical grocery stores

22-Apr-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The way consumers are shopping during the COVID-19 public health pandemic has changed drastically with significantly fewer trips being made to physical grocery stores and a rise in online shopping, according to a new survey of 2,012 US consumers conducted...

Consumer fears about safety eclipse those of access when grocery shopping during pandemic

16-Apr-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Grocery shoppers’ concern about the health of other customers and store employees has eclipsed fears of running out of food as the death toll from the novel coronavirus continues to climb and high-demand items are restocked more quickly, according to...

Startups in Food-X’s 11th cohort offer solutions to weaknesses in the food system revealed by COVID-19

14-Apr-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Rather than hit pause during the ongoing pandemic like many other investors, global venture capital fund SOSV’s Food-X accelerator is moving full steam ahead by welcoming to its 11th cohort eight companies that are directly tackling challenges coronavirus...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Helping during coronavirus pandemic earns companies brand-awareness, loyalty long term

10-Apr-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Even as packaged food and beverage companies scramble to meet increased consumer demand while also compensating for setbacks during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many are shifting already limited resources to employees, customers in need and the broader...

Big Food and coronavirus: The response so far

06-Apr-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Over the past few weeks, big food manufacturers have leveraged the strength of their operations and logistics capabilities to combat the spread of COVID-19. Many are also supporting their employees with additional compensation, cash bonuses, waived health...

Walmart limits number of customers allowed inside stores at one time, implements one-way aisle traffic

06-Apr-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

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.

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