The struggle over GMO labeling will push the growth of certified organic products in the US in 2014, according to market research firm Organic Monitor. And at least one major discount grocery retailer is looking to cash in with the launch of a new organic...
General Mills says original Cheerios will now be made without genetically modified ingredients, citing consumers' growing preference for non-GMO food products. The change doesn’t apply to the other 11 varieties of Cheerios.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents some of the largest food and beverage manufacturers, is seeking approval to label foods containing GMO ingredients “natural”, according to a Dec. 5 letter the GMA sent to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Whole Foods said Wednesday it plans to dump Chobani as a yogurt supplier at the beginning of 2014, citing a number of reasons—primarily that it has become more selective in shelf allocation with the recent explosion of Greek yogurt brands.
The debate rages on over whether government should have a say in what consumers eat and drink, as the high-profile proposed cap on soda sizes brought the issue into the limelight in 2013. For the trade associations representing the beverage and snack...
What will 2014 bring on the regulatory front for the food and beverage industry? From the stagnant farm bill to the ongoing debate on biotech to consumer confusion on the various forms of sweeteners, trade associations representing the sugar, HFCS and...
The FoodNavigator-USA business leaders round table debate
What are the hottest trends in food and beverage? And are the big bucks really in blue-sky innovation, or have the most successful firms played with an existing concept and just done a better job at executing, marketing and selling it?
What might give the food and beverage industry's regulatory affairs teams sleepless nights in 2014? From more evaporated cane juice lawsuits to proposed changes to the Nutrition Facts panel, stay up to date with this FoodNavigator-USA gallery…
Canadian firm Natural Splendid Ltd. is bringing to market a line of plant-based omega-3 products for supplements and functional foods based on technology developed at the University of British Columbia.
Amid mounting false advertising lawsuits and increased pressure from consumer advocacy groups, the future of the historically vague marketing term "natural" is in question.
A controversial new report alleging that genetically engineered foods could be an environmental trigger for gluten sensitivity and celiac disease has been challenged by the Celiac Disease Foundation and a leading plant geneticist.
The researcher behind a heavily criticised study linking Monsanto's GM maize and Roundup products to cancer in rats says he will not willingly withdraw the research, after the journal issued a 'withdraw or be retracted' ultimatum yesterday.
Why is your business using social media? To sell more products? Raise your profile? Change your image? Find out what key ‘influencers’ really think about your brands? Identify and target a new customer base? Or because everyone else is on Twitter and...
AquaBounty Technologies - which is hoping to become the first company to introduce a genetically engineered (GE) animal to the human food supply - is another step closer after Environment Canada concluded the salmon are not harmful to the environment...
UPDATED -The campaign urging voters to say ‘YES’ to Washington State’s GMO labeling initiative 522 has acknowledged that it will not pass, but said the latest results show the tally was so close that had more young ‘progressive’ residents turned out to...
I-522 is a victory for the proponents of GMO labeling, no matter how the final polls might turn out, attendees on a United Natural Products Alliance webinar were told yesterday.
With more than 85% of the votes in on Washington State's GMO labeling initiative 522 as of Thursday night, it appears that the Yes side has an insurmountable deficit to overcome, getting 47% of votes to the No side’s 53%. (Due to the state’s unique...
The global market for non-GMO food and beverage products shows great promise in the coming years, but its success is far from guaranteed, as global consumer support for mandatory GMO labeling is mixed, and there is little indication of a surge toward...
With early results from Washington State’s ballot on GMO labeling (I-522) suggesting voters may narrowly reject it (click here) legal experts predict that while this particular battle may be lost, the war is far from over.
Initial returns indicate that voters in Washington State have given the thumbs down to GMO labeling proposal I-522, in similar proportions to the vote on California's GMO labeling proposal Prop 37.
Washington DC-based non-profit the Center for Food Safety (CFS) has urged the FDA to reject calls to make an administrative determination over whether GMOs belong in products marketed as ‘natural’.
The proponents of Washington State’s I-522 initiative mandating the labeling of foods containing GMO ingredients claim they have a slight lead hours before tomorrow's election deadline.
Big Interview: Matt McLean, CEO of Uncle Matt's Organic
From one pulp-free organic orange juice SKU in a regional Florida grocery store chain in 1999, Uncle Matt’s Organic is the oldest US organic juice company with 11 organic juice products and national distribution in such chains as Whole Foods, Publix and...
Whether a food product contains genetically modified organisms, and whether the disclosure of that information should be mandatory on the label has dominated public discourse in recent years. But that focus may have obscured a more basic concern about...
Organic yogurt maker Stonyfield is rolling out new packaging hammering home its organic credentials with a new logo featuring the phrase ‘no toxic pesticides used here’ following research suggesting 74% of Americans would like to eat food produced with...
The number of consumer fraud class actions brought in federal court against food and beverage companies skyrocketed from 19 cases in 2008 to more than 100 in 2012, according to the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR)*.
From the risks and rewards of energy drinks to what Americans eat for breakfast, strategies to tackle mindless eating and the next generation of gluten-free foods, Houston was the place to be this week as 8,000+ nutrition professionals gathered for the...
Food policy must meet the needs of the rapidly growing global population, as well as urban elites in developed nations with “organic window boxes” promoting an ‘Old McDonald fantasy’, claimed one high-profile speaker at the Academy of Nutrition &...
Despite recent renewed efforts, the food industry does not appear to be winning hearts and minds when it comes to persuading the public of the merits of GM crops, or why mandatory labeling of ingredients derived from them would be a bad idea.
UPDATED: The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) says it will file paperwork with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) establishing a political committee and will disclose the source of all of its contributions to the ‘NO’ campaign...
In new developments in the highly charged debate over GMOs, General Mills has been targeted in a report blasted by a plant geneticist as “a collection of discredited studies and half-truths”, while the GMA has been slapped with a lawsuit alleging it concealed...
A federal judge handling three lawsuits vs General Mills over ‘100% natural’ claims on Nature Valley products claimed to contain GMOs and other allegedly ‘un-natural’ ingredients says the courts are perfectly capable of deciding if consumers have been...
Big interview: Ben F. Pierce Gore, Pratt & Associates
When you think of plaintiff's lawyers, two images probably come to mind: Consumer crusaders like Erin Brockovich or grubby ambulance-chasers in John Grisham novels. But where in this spectrum should we insert the top attorneys representing plaintiffs...
With roughly a month to go until voters in Washington State decide whether GMO foods should be labeled, shareholder advocates are calling on the top 10 donors who helped fund the opposition against California’s Prop 37 last year, which was narrowly defeated,...
The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's (CFSAN) priority to publish guidance to help manufacturers with voluntarily GMO labeling could signal a change in thinking at the agency, says the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA).
Is there a natural ceiling to the gluten-free market? Is the party over for energy drinks? Are '100%-natural' claims worth the hassle? Find out in FoodNavigator-USA's round up of 10 of the hottest topics in US food and beverage development.Click...
Stevia specialist Steviva Ingredients has developed an organic syrup combining blue agave nectar and stevia extract that is suitable for formulators looking to cut calories and maintain clean labels in sauces and dressings, bars, beverages and baked goods.
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) announced that it opposes federally mandated voluntary GMO labeling in favor of states’ rights to enforce mandatory GMO labeling, arguing that voluntary labeling could end state GMO laws and legitimate non-GMO-certified...
An organic equivalence agreement signed yesterday between the US and Japan will reopen the Japanese market to US organic producers and could provide more—and possibly cheaper—food for US consumers.
As consumer and retailer demand for third party-verified non-GMO product labels shows no signs of slowing, NSF International announced that it will join the Non-GMO Project as a technical administrator in early 2014.
A bill proposing sweeping changes to food labeling laws covering everything from ‘natural’ claims to whole grain statements has been welcomed by consumer groups, but stands little chance of success, legal experts have told FoodNavigator-USA.
US retail sales of non-GMO foods and beverages are projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% in the next five years, and could represent 30% of the market with a value of $264bn in 2017, predicts Packaged Facts.
AquaBounty Technologies - which is hoping to become the first company to introduce a genetically engineered (GE) animal to the human food supply - has posted a net loss of $2.05m for the six months to June 30, 2013 - down from $2.4m in the same period...
Requiring food manufacturers to label products containing ingredients from genetically engineered (GE) crops would not mean higher food prices for shoppers, according to an independent study released yesterday by the Just Label It coalition.
Is it too risky to label products that may contain ingredients from genetically engineered crops as ‘all-natural’? And will the FDA step in and decide this issue so consumer class action lawsuits over this issue stop clogging up the court system?
