Kellogg’s has become the latest high-profile food brand to face legal action over the alleged presence of trace levels of the herbicide glyphosate in its products, which the plaintiff argues that reasonable consumers would not expect to see in their foods...
Synthetic biology specialist Amyris has embarked on a mission to capture 30% of the global stevia sweeteners market by 2022 with a Reb M sweetener produced from cane sugar by a modified yeast strain, that it claims gives it a clear competitive advantage...
Perfect Day, a high-profile Silicon Valley start-up producing casein and whey via microbial fermentation (minus the cows) has teamed up with global ingredients giant ADM to develop and commercialize its animal-free dairy proteins.
German flavors and fragrances company Symrise AG has opened a US facility near Atlanta, Georgia, for the production of natural food ingredients, investing approximately US$57m in the nearly 100 acre site to grow its US business.
Kraft Heinz has committed $100m to launch the venture capital fund Evolv Ventures that will be focused on investing in emerging technologies in the food industry.
In a ruling one attorney has described as an “outlier” and “extreme," a California federal court has certified two classes of consumers in a lawsuit alleging Chipotle falsely advertised its food as non-GMO given that its meat and dairy products are...
The Detox Project – which certifies products as ‘Glyphosate Residue Free’ – has been overwhelmed by industry inquiries over the past six months as food brands seek not just to get certified, but more often, to “use us as a consultancy service” to find...
A citizen petition filed Sept. 24 by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation asking FDA to prohibit 'non-GMO' claims on foods and beverages likely will not gain broader industry support or traction with the agency, according to...
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given official sanction to Nuseed’s proprietary omega-3 canola for cultivation in the United States, bringing plant-derived long-chain omega-3s a step closer to the market.
A lawsuit alleging that Nestlé USA is misleading shoppers with its ‘No GMO Ingredients’ seal is unlikely to make much progress, predict legal experts, but it does highlight the confusion surrounding Non-GMO claims given that the standards underpinning...
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...
If plant-based ‘milk’ is keeping some parts of the dairy industry – and the FDA commissioner – awake at night, what might milk producers make of the latest innovation to emerge from Silicon Valley: animal-free dairy (casein and whey made without cows)?...
Senomyx has “achieved a fermentation strain proof of concept” for the production of siratose, a new zero-calorie, high-potency sweetening compound found in trace levels in monk fruit.
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...
The term ‘clean’ is popping up more and more in food branding and in consumer vernacular, but its definition is as foggy as ‘natural’ and ‘healthy,' according to Mintel.
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).
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...
As demand for omega-3s continues to rise, alternative sources are being explored, with many think that genetically engineered oil seed crops could have a massive impact on easing pressure on fish stocks.
If the first wave of comments to its proposed rule on GMO labeling is anything to go by, USDA’s agricultural marketing service faces a daunting task as it seeks to nail down its national bioengineered food disclosure standard, with early feedback revealing...
If you say the words ‘Dirty Dozen’ to farmers, don’t be surprised if you see them shudder, as this popular - but fallacious - concept isn’t based on science or reality.
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...
On the face of it, the terms ‘vegan’ and ‘plant-based’ might appear to be interchangeable (they both involve avoiding animal products), but consumers do not view them in the same way, reveals new research from food development specialist Mattson.
‘Our platform enables us to understand and reverse-engineer all animal products’
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...
Non-profit organization the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) must improve its communication strategy, says the former program manager of the group’s North America branch.
EverSweet - the hotly-anticipated ‘next-generation’ Reb D and Reb M sweetener from Cargill and Evolva produced via fermentation – is now available in commercial quantities, say the partners, who have also struck a deal to explore whether other high intensity...
Cellular agriculture start-up Perfect Day – which is creating ‘vegan’ dairy proteins without cows – has raised $24.7m in a Series A funding round led by Singapore state-owned investment company Temasek.
The jury may be out still on whether trace amounts of the popular herbicide glyphosate pose health risks to humans, but industry insiders predict mounting consumer fear about the possibility will pressure more food and beverage manufacturers in 2018 to...
Bigelow has promised to vigorously defend itself against a “frivolous” lawsuit filed by The Richman Law Group on behalf of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) alleging it misrepresented its green tea as ‘all natural’ owing to trace levels of glyphosate...
2017 has been a rollercoaster ride for the food industry, with Amazon coughing up a cool $13.7bn for Whole Foods, a flurry of M&A activity from Nestlé, Hershey, Campbell Soup and Kellogg, and an exodus from the industry’s biggest trade association,...
Bay area start-up Finless Foods – one of a new wave of cellular agriculture companies producing meat by culturing cells (without raising or slaughtering animals) – has slashed production costs by 50% since September and is aiming to achieve price parity...
From entrepreneurs pioneering new farming methods and food technologies, to big brands adjusting to the changing landscape, FOOD VISION USA 2017 brought together a wide cross-section of industry players to explore how the industry is facing the challenges...
Geltor seeks to disrupt gelatin market with potentially game-changing animal-free alternative
As anyone that’s tried a vegan gummy bear lately will tell you, it’s incredibly hard to replicate the unique properties of gelatin, a gelling agent derived from animal skin, bones and connective tissues used in everything from candies to Jello. But what...
Claims in high-profile false advertising case vs Dannon not plausible, court rules
A judge has granted Dannon’s motion to dismiss a high-profile false advertising lawsuit alleging shoppers were misled by its ‘all-natural’ claims on dairy products from cows that may have eaten GM feed.
Consumers are looking for cues signaling ‘clean’ and ‘natural’, but they don’t necessarily expect to see those words on food labels, and may even be suspicious of brands that use them on pack, says Hartman Group.
Consumers increasingly view clean label as about more than avoiding ‘artificial’ ingredients, according to a new survey from Kerry, which also reveals that some ingredients previously considered safe bets in clean label formulations, such as natural flavors...
Food and beverage manufacturers must work with the government and other stakeholders to overcome significant, but not insurmountable, challenges if they want to use QR codes or other digital technology to convey when products include genetically modified...
Courts should dismiss the ‘daisy-chained’ logic underpinning a new wave of ‘natural’ lawsuits looking beyond the ingredients list to factors such as animal feeding and rearing practices, says cheesemaker Sargento.
If consumers are to believe that the food industry is serious about transparency, highly refined oils and sweeteners derived from GM crops must be included in the new bioengineered food standard (the federal GMO labeling law), even if they are indistinguishable...
Contrary to suggestions in a federal lawsuit filed against USDA earlier this month, the agency currently is reviewing a feasibility study exploring how electronic or digital disclosure, such as QR codes, might impact consumers’ ability to easily identify...
While it's probably still best known for its iconic condensed soup, Campbell Soup has been quietly re-engineering its portfolio in recent years via a series of strategic acquisitions and investments spanning everything from hummus and dips to organic...
Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s has said that its ice cream products are safe to consume after independent lab testing by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) found that certain ice cream samples tested positive for glyphosate.
How deep into the supply chain do consumers expect food manufacturers to delve when it comes to label claims about genetic engineering (or its absence), and do they realize that not all non-GMO claims mean the same thing?
By Jay W. Connolly, Edward F. Maluf and Owen Wolfe, attorneys, Seyfarth Shaw
One of the hottest topics in the food, beverage and dietary supplement industries, for both producers and advertisers, remains the disclosure of genetically modified organisms, or ‘GMOs,’ in these products.
By Charlie Arnot, CEO, The Center for Food Integrity
If you care about GMO labeling, you only have a few more days to respond to USDA's 30 questions* about how to implement the new law. The looming deadline is both a stark reminder of the controversy around GMOs that brought the food industry to this...
What foods and beverages do Millennials like to buy online? Why do shoppers buy locally-grown foods, and why don’t more consumers scan QR codes? Here are 10 things that caught our eye in the 2017 US Grocery Shopper Trends report from the Food Marketing...
Specialty ingredient supplier Tate & Lyle will launch 17 non-GMO starches in order to meet a growing global demand, particularly in North America and Eastern Europe, it says.
In many ways, the conversation about GMOs has been a debate about good versus evil, but ingredient supplier Cargill wants to shift the discussion to one simply about choice – a goal that one executive says can only be achieved if manufacturers and suppliers...
The results of the 2017 FoodNavigator-USA reader survey are in… and not surprisingly, given the breadth of our readership, they’re pretty mixed, with many readers excited about their company’s prospects and others feeling trapped in a race to the bottom...
Should brands making dairy products from cows that may have consumed GM feed be allowed to market their wares as ‘all natural’? Absolutely, insisted Dannon in court papers filed this week urging the judge to dismiss the “daisy-chained” logic of a false...
Synthetic biology, or GMO 2.0 as some are calling it, has vastly more penetration in the marketplace than was previously believed. That’s the takeaway from the assembly of the first list of such ingredients.
