Food safety and labeling

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How consumer confidence in the economy will shape retail in 2019

30-Nov-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

It has been ten years since the last recession first shook Americans’ confidence and caused them to pull their purse strings tighter, but according to industry insiders, consumers finally are feeling more comfortable spending again – which is good news...

Freedom Foods taps RDs to spread the word about prebiotics

18-Nov-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

By tapping registered dietitians at retailers and in local communities, Freedom Foods has magnified the impact and reach of its recent launch in more than 2,000 stores in the US of nutritional bars and cereals featuring BarleyMax – a unique grain packed...

From 7 days to 2 seconds: Blockchain can help speed trace-back, improve food safety & reduce waste

06-Nov-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Once the “biggest skeptic” of how blockchain technology could benefit the food and beverage industry, Frank Yiannas, the VP of food safety for Walmart, says he experienced a near “religious conversion” after working with IBM to digitize the food supply...

Emerging food tribes represent a small but highly influential market segment

30-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumers’ approach to what they eat is changing from “monolithic meat, potatoes and veggies,” to increasingly “heterogeneous” diets that go beyond sustenance to represent values and lifestyles – a shift that is translating to big business for companies...

Coca-Cola to FDA: Update your policies to allow firms to fortify healthy carbonated beverages

24-Oct-2018 By Elaine Watson

Under the so-called ‘jelly bean rule,’ firms are discouraged from adding vitamins to foods of minimal nutritional value so that marketers cannot present junk foods as healthy options. But the policy should be updated when it comes to carbonated beverages,...

Startups at FoodBytes! showcase food waste, AI and plant-based solutions

21-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Food and agriculture startups focused on reducing waste, using artificial intelligence to deliver higher food, and offering more sustainable and plant-based options, took center stage at Rabobank's FoodBytes! pitch competition and networking event...

Waste reduction and 5 more trends Kroger is tracking at its grocery stores

15-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Appalled at the amount of produce wasted every year while many people struggle with food insecurity, Kroger will launch a new brand that prizes oddly shaped and discolored fruits and vegetables that previously would have been rejected by the retail chain.

Study: Virtual reality provides immersive environment for food testing

01-Oct-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Food sensory judgements – taste, texture, and aroma perception – can be influenced by the surrounding environment, and virtual reality (VR) technology can be an effective and affordable way of replicating various environments when conducting consumer...

Dutch cell-based meat start up Meatable emerges from stealth mode: 'We think we have a big advantage over the other players'

28-Sep-2018 By Elaine Watson

A new player in the burgeoning cell-based meat field that has developed a production process which its founders claim will give it a competitive advantage over rivals, has emerged from stealth mode after raising $3.5m to help scale its slaughter-free...

FDA ups ante in plant ‘milk’ debate: ‘We’re on a fast track to take a fresh look at labeling'

27-Sep-2018 By Elaine Watson

The FDA has upped the ante in the ongoing debate over the use of terms such as ‘almondmilk’ and ‘vegan cheese,’ with a public request for information to help inform the development of draft guidance to “provide greater clarity on appropriate labeling...

US food facilities have until end of year to renew FDA registrations or risk cancellation

17-Sep-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Any facility that markets food for consumption in the US has between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018, to renew its U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration, a biennial requirement that is distinct from updating registration, said Registrar Corp,...

FDA will not require ‘added sugars’ call-out on pure honey, maple syrup

07-Sep-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

After industry slammed FDA for proposing pure maple syrup and jars of honey list ‘added sugars’ on their updated Nutrition Facts panel, the agency has done an about face and will no longer the controversial declaration on the products when ‘packaged as...

USDA pushes to bring broadband to rural areas so more farmers, ranchers can use precision ag tech

04-Sep-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

In the coming months, the US Department of Agriculture will nearly double its current annual investment in rural telecommunications infrastructure to bring reliable, affordable high-speed Internet to underserved areas, including farmland and ranches,...

Amended Prop 65 regulations likely to prompt a significant uptick in litigation, predict attorneys

01-Sep-2018 By Elaine Watson

Amendments to Prop 65 – which requires firms selling products in California to provide warnings if their products expose consumers to 900+ chemicals linked to cancer or reproductive toxicity – will likely trigger a sharp rise in litigation as manufacturers...

Listening to parents helped Raised Real rapidly scale up its subscription meal kits for ‘tiny humans’

23-Aug-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

One of the secrets to the rapid growth of Raised Real’s subscription home delivery meal kits for “tiny humans” is asking its members what they need – and actually listening to their answers, according to the company’s CEO Santiago Merea.

And now the food lawsuits… General Mills sued over glyphosate residue post Monsanto $289m verdict

21-Aug-2018 By Elaine Watson

Monsanto has just been ordered to pay $289m in damages to a man who alleged its glyphosate-based herbicide caused his cancer (a ruling it is appealing). But what, if anything, does this verdict mean for food companies manufacturing products containing...

Impossible Foods: 'Our goal is to beat burgers made from cows decisively in blind taste tests by the end of 2018'

08-Aug-2018 By Elaine Watson

Impossible Foods is gearing up to start a second shift at its Oakland production facility that will double production of its plant-based Impossible Burger by the year-end, and is planning a second factory at an undisclosed location as it seeks to “not...

The NPD Group: Every consumer has one problem right now, and that is ‘what’s for dinner?’

31-Jul-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Americans are preparing and eating more meals at home (four out of five meals) than they did a decade ago, according to The NPD Group. To capture these at-home eaters, the food industry should focus less on where consumers are eating and more on what...

Trendspotting at the IFT show 2018 part 2: From millennials and clean eating to Instagram-friendly food

25-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Clean label is a longstanding trend in food formulation, but that doesn't mean you should start slapping the word 'clean' on food labels, said speakers at the IFT annual meeting and expo in Chicago. Check out part two of our gallery of...

Trendspotting at IFT 2018 part 1: From cellular ag and chickpea protein to GMO labeling

25-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

This year, cell cultured meat vied with chickpea protein, animal-free gelatin and almond protein for the spotlight at the IFT annual meeting and expo in Chicago, while the clean label trend continued to gather pace. Check out part one of our gallery of...

FDA has no further questions over the safety of Impossible Foods' star ingredient

24-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Plant-based meat specialist Impossible Foods has received a letter from the FDA confirming the agency has no additional questions that challenge the company’s determination that its star ingredient – soy leghemoglobin (‘heme’) – is generally recognized...

Chef’d shutdown does not signal downfall of entire meal kit category, says former SVP

20-Jul-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Earlier this week meal kit company Chef’d announced that it had ceased all operations and issued layoff notices to its employees, citing "unexpected circumstances with the funding for the business." While there is still speculation over what...

New Sustainable Food Policy Alliance aims to improve nutrition labeling, environmental impact of food production

12-Jul-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

A new association created by four of the nation's largest food companies wants to redirect industry’s approach to nutrition, transparency and the environmental impact of food production, in a move the CSPI says "further marginalizes" the...

Your guide to IFT 2018: From cellular agriculture to smart snacks for kids

07-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Is cultured (aka ‘clean’) meat ready for prime time? And can personalized nutrition really deliver? Check out FoodNavigator-USA's guide to the hottest topics at the Institute of Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago on July...

If shoppers don’t trust bioengineered labels, GMO labeling will be a huge waste of time and money, say CPG brands

06-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Public comments on USDA’s GMO labeling rule have exposed sharp divisions about whether it should include refined ingredients from GM crops, or foods produced via modern gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR. But they have also raised questions about...

Excluding refined ingredients from GMO labeling rule would confuse consumers and erode trust in brands, warns the GMA

03-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Consumers will lose trust in the food industry if USDA does not mandate that refined ingredients such as oils and sugars derived from bioengineered crops are subject to GMO labeling, says the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).

Hershey, Unilever: GMO labeling should apply to highly refined oils, sweeteners

30-Jun-2018 By Elaine Watson

If consumers are to believe that the food industry is serious about transparency, highly refined ingredients derived from GM crops must be included in the definition of 'bioengineered' enshrined in federal GMO labeling legislation, even if they...

GOOD FOOD FINANCING & INNOVATION CONFERENCE

Where food investments are going, according to investors

25-Jun-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Investors in early stage food companies are constantly searching for the ‘what’s next?’ in food, and many fundamentally agree that the ideas and people worth investing in are the ones that are fulfilling an unmet consumer need in a "unique way that...

Maximize engagement on Instagram by carefully curating photos, shooting stories & using polls

18-Jun-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

When it comes to marketing on social media it is easy for companies to spread themselves too thin by trying to be everywhere and reach everyone, which is why the public relations experts at Konnect Agency recommend that firms pick one or two platforms...

FDA announces public meeting on cultured meat, says it can be regulated under existing frameworks

15-Jun-2018 By Elaine Watson

With a clutch of start-ups getting closer to commercialization of cell-cultured meat (aka ‘clean meat’) the FDA has announced a public meeting to give stakeholders the chance to comment on the technology and the terminology used to describe it, and suggested...

Chobani’s Food Tech Residency tackles supply chain challenges to deliver better food to more people

13-Jun-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Chobani’s mission to deliver better food to more people is about more than creating finished goods that are more nutritious and more accessible – it also is about making those products in a better way, which is one reason why it is adding a Food Tech...

USDA outlines three prong plan to detect and prevent fraud in organic

30-May-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

The US Department of Agriculture has launched a comprehensive and aggressive three-prong approach to detect and prevent fraud in the organic industry, after the discovery last year that some imports from Eastern Europe were falsely labeled as organic,...

Organic stakeholders test pilot to root out fraud

29-May-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Starting next month, a small but diverse group of organic stakeholders from across the supply chain will test-drive a rigorous set of fraud prevention, detection and mitigation strategies that once fine-tuned will become subject to the annual inspection...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How collagen moved from beauty cream to a superfood & what’s next

25-May-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Collagen has long held a place of worth in the beauty industry for its proclaimed abilities to reverse the signs of aging, strengthen nails and thicken hair, but now it is expanding into food and beverage where its restorative powers are quickly earning...

Pacific Foods goes after bone broth, non-dairy milk segments with branding focused on nourishment

23-May-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

With newly minted branding centered on nourishment and a range of new products launching, Pacific Foods is angling to claim as its own the burgeoning bone broth category as well as secure a larger share of the booming plant-based milk segment, according...

Food is Medicine Working Group could open doors for personalized nutrition, medically tailored meals

09-May-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Mass. Rep. Jim McGovern and other members of the House Hunger Caucus are taking the adage of an apple a day keeps the doctor a way to a new level with the bipartisan Food is Medicine Working Group, which seeks to improve health outcomes by expanding access...

USDA proposed rule on GMO labeling raises more questions than answers

03-May-2018 By Elaine Watson

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a long-awaited proposed rule to establish GMO labeling standards (the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard), but still leaves most of the key questions – including how to interpret its...

Families that manage severe allergies need options in every category, according to Safe + Fair’s CEO

01-May-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Offering lunchbox products for school children is a natural starting point for companies serving those with allergies because this is one of the most challenging meals and environments, but it also is only a small part of the much-larger problem, according...

2020 Dietary Guidelines should consider impact of food groups on disease endpoints, says expert

24-Apr-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Proposed research questions for the 2020 Dietary Guidelines that continue to focus on consumption in relation to nutrient adequacy are “disappointing,” and a better use of resources would be to look at the impact of food groups on disease endpoints, argues...

Transparency & including end-users in 2020 dietary guideline review is key to successful implementation

19-Apr-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

For all the effort that goes into crafting the US dietary guidelines, including the multi-year process of reviewing the science and sifting through stakeholders’ conflicting opinions and wishes, the final product will all be for naught if it is not trusted...

Blackeye Roasting Co. founder: ‘We’re going after the gas station buyer in rural areas’

18-Apr-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

With a growing Midwest footprint, ready-to-drink (RTD) cold brew coffee brand Blackeye Roasting Co. said it has ‘aggressive’ plans to triple its distribution to 30 states by the end of 2018 and sees c-stores as its secret weapon to reaching a new base...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Consumers’ continuing love-affair with protein is evolving with new sources

13-Apr-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Americans’ long-term love affair with protein shows no sign of slowing, but new research from the full service sales and marketing firm Acosta suggests that the sources of the macronutrient that shoppers are buying is evolving as are their reason for...

‘Our platform enables us to understand and reverse-engineer all animal products’

Impossible Foods: 'Our goal is to produce a full range of meats and dairy products for every cultural region in the world'

13-Apr-2018 By Elaine Watson

Plant-based burger maker Impossible Foods has raised a jaw-dropping amount of money for a food company (almost $400m in debt and equity), albeit one supported by a lot of IP. So what gives its bosses the confidence they can generate the kind of returns...

Little Roots offers frozen baby food ‘bulbs’ as more sustainable alternative to pouches

11-Apr-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

For years pouches of baby food have been all the rage, but now concerns that they may create unnecessary waste are prompting new brands such as Little Roots Puree, to propose new packaging solutions.

Soup-to-Nuts Podcast: The increasing demand and complexity of corporate social responsibility plans

30-Mar-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

In the push to win consumers, woo top talent and, believe it or not, balance budgets, corporate social responsibility programs could be one of the most powerful tools in companies’ arsenals – but determining what to include and how to structure them can...

Expo West 2018

Applegate teams with Whole30 to expand the reach of its humanely-raised, clean-ingredient products

29-Mar-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Whole30 Approved logo has become a shortcut for consumers looking for products made with real, simple and nutritious ingredients, and as such it is giving products that bear the certification a huge market boost, as Applegate recently discovered....

Research showing organic techniques restore soil carbon could expand the seal’s appeal

06-Mar-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

New research showing organic farming more effectively restores soil carbon and reduces the cause of climate change compared to conventional techniques could sway more shoppers to buy organic – especially as conscious consumerism continues to rise.

Trade gap between domestic and imported organic soy & corn raises questions about fraud

05-Mar-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Despite double-digit increases in the amount of organic corn and soybean grown domestically in recent years, imports of the crops are increasing twice as fast – raising questions about the quality of the product allowed in from overseas and underscoring...

Brazil holds significant export potential for US companies, but some barriers must be addressed first

05-Mar-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Brazil’s fast growth in the past 20 years makes it an ideal target for exporting US crops and products, and with values that closely align to those of the US it also is an ideal strategic partner to help open new markets in third countries, according...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: B Corp certification can help companies connect with conscious consumers

02-Mar-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Conscious consumerism continues to rise in America with more shoppers saying they want to reward companies that “do good,” unfortunately for companies that are embracing this trend a recent survey found many people don’t know how to find socially responsible...