FDA warned pregnant and breast-feeding women yesterday to avoid CBD, THC and marijuana in any form, including the proliferation of food, supplements and cosmetics containing CBD and other cannabis-derived ingredients that currently are flooding the market...
HB Natural Ingredients has received a "Letter of No Objection" for its stevia sweetener portfolio, Vitosa, confirming that the FDA has "no questions" regarding the self-affirmed GRAS status of Vitosa.
Natural Hemp Company CEO Chris Clifford believes the next big category to hit the food and beverage market will be CBD-infused sparkling water. And the company is positioning its first CPG brand, Day One CBD Sparkling Water, as an everyday beverage that...
A new study by American researchers backs up an open request by Scott Gottlieb – then US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner – last year for feedback on mandating warning labels for sesame.
Stevia-based sweetener company, SweeGen, has received a GRAS no objections letter from the FDA for its non-GMO Bestevia Rebaudioside E ('Reb E') stevia leaf sweetener for use in food and beverage products.
By the end of 2019, 98% of food and beverage products will have adopted a standardized version of date labeling – ‘Best If Used By' – with complete adoption anticipated by January 2020, predict the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the...
The CBD market is exploding with the ingredient popping up in everything from bars to beverages to confections and everything in between – driving up sales to more than $200 million in 2018 by conservative estimates and an expected $3.8 billion by 2025,...
When it comes to legally marketing conventional food and dietary supplements with CBD and other cannabis-derived compounds, FDA and industry appear stuck in a catch-22.
FDA’s new Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Norman Sharpless, promised last week that he will pick up where outgoing Commissioner Scott Gottlieb left off in strengthening nutrition policy and regulation to improve the public’s health and implementing...
FDA will push forward with its Nutrition Innovation Strategy despite the departure this month of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb who championed the initiative as a way to reduce the burden of chronic disease through improved nutrition, according to an...
The FDA has ruled in favor of a citizen petition requesting dietary fiber status for MGP Ingredients' Fibersym RW and FiberRiteRW -- both resistant starches 4 (RS4) -- with the agency stating that it will propose that cross-linked phosphorylated...
Beginning this spring, the FDA will begin routine inspections of large domestic and international farms (excluding sprouts operations) as part of the Produce Safety Rule established under FSMA to better address food borne illnesses linked to fresh produce....
While the Farm Bill has removed industrial hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the use of CBD as an ingredient has many more hurdles to overcome especially with the FDA, according to attorney Todd A. Harrison.
FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb says the agency can’t “act unilaterally” and respond to milk producers’ concerns by simply banning terms such as ‘almondmilk’– having tacitly endorsed such terms on food labels for a decade - but says he will solicit...
Ingredient supplier DSM Nutritional Products filed a citizen petition to the FDA, suggesting an amendment to allow brands to use simpler vitamin names on pack instead of chemical nomenclature, in an effort to appease consumers looking for ‘recognizable...
Most food, beverage and supplement brands know that stating or implying that their wares can treat, prevent, or cure a disease is a definite no no. They may not, however, be aware that retweeting, re-posting, or simply ‘liking’ social media postings to...
The FDA has signaled its intent to “modernize certain standards of identity” in its 2018 strategic roadmap, suggesting that it might, after all, weigh into the plant-based ‘milk’ and ‘cheese’ debate in 2018, although it has not clarified which standards...
Should oat hull fiber be classified as a dietary fiber? It depends, according to Grain Millers, which claims that its unique, mechanical milling process ensures that its oat hull fiber is the only one on the market that meets the FDA’s definition of ‘intrinsic...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under pressure from Hindus, who want labelling laws changed to reveal if gelatin, used as an ingredient in food products, contains beef or pork.
Hailed by experts as ‘needed’ and ‘significant’, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued draft guidance on best practices to follow when convening a panel of experts to evaluate whether a substance is “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS).
Comments to the FDA about a proposed delay to the compliance date for the new Nutrition Facts panel show public health advocates want a rapid transition, while most industry stakeholders want more time, in part due to continued uncertainty over which...
Eating two ounces of black licorice a day for at least two weeks could land a person older than 40 years old in the hospital with an irregular heart rhythm, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned the day before Halloween this year.
The FDA is proposing to revoke a health claim on the relationship between soy protein and reduced risk of heart disease, citing “inconsistent findings” from research published since the claim was authorized in 1999.
The judge handling a putative class action lawsuit* over ‘natural’ claims on Annie’s salad dressings, has stayed the case (put it on hold) on primary jurisdiction** grounds, and speculated that the FDA is likely to address the use of the term natural...
Recognizing that introducing peanuts to potentially allergic infants is a “significant concern among new parents,” FDA approved a new qualified health claim that reiterates and reassures parents of new advice to give 4- to 10-month-olds products containing...
General Mills has been hit with a second putative class action lawsuit alleging that shoppers are being misled by ‘natural’ claims on Annie’s salad dressings containing xanthan gum – a widely used thickener and stabilizer produced via microbial fermentation.
Just days after approving a qualified health claim extolling the heart-healthy benefits of macadamia nuts, the FDA has approved a similar claim about soybean oil in a move petitioner Bunge says will provide clarity for consumers bombarded with confusing...
This year, edible bugs competed with clean (aka cultured) meat, green banana flour and jackfruit for the spotlight, while many fibers remain in limbo as the FDA mulls over definitions. Meanwhile, the clean label trend continues to gather pace, along with...
A tale of two plant ‘milk’ lawsuits: Court stays Whitewave lawsuit, but dubs near-identical case vs Blue Diamond as ‘patently implausible’ and throws it out
A lawsuit alleging Silk almondmilk is falsely advertised as nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk has been stayed by a judge on primary jurisdiction grounds, while a near-identical case filed by the same law firm over Almond Breeze has been thrown out...
The number of class action filings against food and beverage companies dipped from 158 in 2015 to 145 in 2016, largely due to a drop off in ‘natural’ lawsuits, but food manufacturers remain vulnerable to legal action on a host of other fronts, from slack...
New regulations and draft guidances may be on hold at many federal agencies until the Trump administration can find its footing, but enforcement by FDA, FTC and USDA is not – and neither is litigation related to how food and beverages are made and marketed...
Flavored water brand Hint Inc has urged a California court to stay (put on ice) a high-profile lawsuit accusing it of falsely advertising its wares as ‘all natural.'
ABA: Fiber suppliers are stuck in a 'holding pattern'
The arrival of the new-look Nutrition Facts panel (which will require manufacturers to list added sugar), is generating renewed interest in inulin: a widely-used ingredient from chicory root that also serves as a sugar replacer. But this enthusiasm is...
What is healthy? Comments flood in as FDA docket closes
“If we were looking for an easy answer and widespread agreement on the definition of ‘healthy,’ we didn’t find it [at a public meeting last month],”observed the FDA in a blog post this week. So could it seriously consider banning the word from food labels...
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...
New research confirming the deleterious effect of trans-fatty acids on heart health validates FDA’s decision to revoke partially hydrogenated oils’ status as Generally Recognized as Safe, say the study's authors.
Building on the momentum of FDA’s recent guidance that women and children should eat more fish, several seafood manufacturers are launching new products that could help the industry come closer to clearing the remaining barriers that have long blocked...
FDA’s draft guidance on dietary fiber should be significantly amended or tossed out altogether, according to industry trade groups. But at least one company that has been affected by the process believes it adds value to the marketplace.
Days after President Trump signed an executive order that freezes some regulations and draft guidance documents, FDA offers to help food industry associations draft their own guidance documents to help “capture the best practices” and boost industry compliance...
In recently revised guidance on ‘healthy’ label claims, the FDA changed its stance on total fat, but it should also make other changes in order to allow nutrient-dense foods such as eggs to be marketed as ‘healthy,’ says United Egg Producers.
Is it legal for nut or other non-dairy based beverages sold in the US to describe themselves as ‘milk’ (almondmilk, cashewmilk, soymilk) on food labels?
While some ‘natural’ lawsuits have been put on ice while the FDA mulls over the meaning of the most contentious word in food marketing, a judge handling one such case against Kraft Foods Group (now Kraft Heinz) says there are not compelling grounds to...
Has the FDA’s probe into ‘natural’ claims on food labels put a stop to the tidal wave of false advertising lawsuits engulfing food manufacturers? Not if a new complaint against Dannon is anything to go by, which also delves into the thorny issue of GMOs,...
If the FDA’s decision to wade into the ‘natural’ debate seemed like an act of sadomasochism, its decision to re-examine the criteria underpinning ‘healthy’ claims on food labels looks set to be equally painful, judging by the first wave of public comments...
New FDA rules clarifying the process by which ingredients are deemed generally recognized as safe (GRAS) have been welcomed by some stakeholders, but harshly criticized by others, who say any system allowing firms to self-determine the safety of their...
Bottled water brand Waiakea has “never claimed” to be spring water, founder and CEO Ryan Emmons has insisted in the wake of media reports in Hawaii alleging that the company uses a municipal water source, yet appears to imply, through the way it markets...
A class action lawsuit accusing Coca-Cola subsidiary Odwalla of misleading consumers by using the term ‘evaporated cane juice’ (ECJ) on labels is now back in play in the wake of the FDA’s finalized guidance – and is likely to be joined by scores of others,...
