Food News
Dannon attacks ‘daisy-chained’ logic in all-natural lawsuit over GM feed and dairy products
Food Navigator | Posted on April 17, 2017Should 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 advertising lawsuit filed in New York.
Activist group sues Calif. schools for serving processed meats
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on April 14, 2017A national physicians group filed a lawsuit Wednesday against two California school districts seeking to stop them from serving processed meats to students because of research linking the foods to colorectal cancer. The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said serving foods such as hot dogs, pepperoni and luncheon meat violates California’s Education Code, which mandates school lunches be of the “highest quality” and “greatest nutritional value possible.”
Sugar leader looks to spud industry’s example in facing critics
Capital Press | Posted on April 14, 2017A dietitian who heads the Sugar Association says her experience in defending potatoes from critics’ attacks will come in handy in improving perceptions about sugar. As a former staff member with the consulting firm Food Minds, Gaine assisted the National Potato Council in reversing restrictions on potatoes in the national school lunch program and in the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Gaine said she helped to “package” the narrative that potatoes aren’t just empty carbohydrates, but deliver crucial fiber and potassium.Gaine said current restrictions could also lead to unintended nutritional consequences by ignoring facts, including that sugar makes healthy foods more palatable. For example, new research for the association finds just 3 calories of sugar is sufficient to mask the bitterness of kale.Both spuds and sugar have been “villainized” by observational studies without cause-and-effect relationships, she said.“The potato folks are probably five years ahead of us, and they’ve done the right things. They’ve had some round tables and had some publications that are important and are working on educating the policymakers at USDA,” Gaine said. “It definitely should be a model of how we look to dispel some of the myths around our product.”
Robots are now doing food deliveries
Vox | Posted on April 13, 2017Much attention has been paid to flying delivery robot prototypes from Amazon and Google, but a San Francisco startup called Marble just released a product that — while a bit less futuristic — could turn out to win the robot delivery wars. Marble has built a fleet of slow-rolling, washing-machine-size robots that are now doing food deliveries in San Francisco’s Mission District. The robots do the same job as human delivery people: They roll to a restaurant, pick up the food, and then roll along sidewalks to the customer. When the robot pulls up in front of the delivery address, the customer enters a PIN to open the robot’s cargo area and take out the food. The technology is still very much a work in progress. Initially, Marble will send a human minder to walk alongside the robot, eliminating any potential cost savings from this approach. The robots are also monitored at all times by a remote operator who follows along via video camera. Plus, the robot is rather bulky — if these become commonplace, it’s easy to imagine sidewalks being clogged with delivery robots.
Montana:For third session in a row, Senate kills bill to allow sale of raw milk
The Missoulian | Posted on April 13, 2017The Montana Senate killed a measure to allow the sale of raw milk within the state. After more than two hours of debate Tuesday, senators voted down HB 325 by a 28-22 vote. It had passed the House last month with a 69-30 vote. The bill would have allowed cattle, goat or sheep ranchers to sell raw milk and related products directly to consumers or through agricultural shares where people pay an upfront cost in exchange for regular deliveries of goods. Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton, carried the bill this year and in 2015.The debate largely focused on concerns about the safety of drinking unpasteurized milk that state and federal health officials have long said can cause illness or death, particularly among children, pregnant women or the elderly because of weak immune systems. Federal law bans the sale of raw milk across state borders, but a little over a two dozen states have legalized the sale in some form.
Social responsibility to go, please
Feedstuffs | Posted on April 11, 2017However, as consumers continue to demand more value from their food, many fast food companies have been trying to meet expectations for social responsibility in the products they offer. McDonald’s, for example, now aims to “make sustainability the new normal” for their business practices. As an industry giant, the corporation is consistently at risk of criticism for contributing to human health problems, such as obesity because of their menu offerings. The company has also recently experienced the fallout of criticism over animal treatment at farms that supply to them and over worker wages. Of the restaurants studied, Panera Bread was ranked as most socially responsible, followed by Subway and Chick-fil-A. Over 60% of people participating ate fast food one or more times per month. McDonald’s, KFC, and Taco Bell were perceived to be the least socially responsible of the fast food restaurants studied. Surprisingly, there were few significant correlations between how frequently people visited fast food chains and their social responsibility rankings. While it might seem counterintuitive to study public perceptions of social responsibility in relation to consumption of fast food, this research underscores that even when it might seem minimally relevant, people are evaluating the value and merits of companies involved in food production and distribution. It also suggests the benefits of marketing geared toward educating consumers as a way of both informing consumer decision-making and potentially creating public goodwill towards a brand.
Glyphosate-free label unveiled in U.S.
The Western Producer | Posted on April 10, 2017Food label claims have become about as rare as air molecules. Seemingly, every food item in the grocery store is either free range, free run, humanely raised, organic, GMO-free and of course, gluten-free. But a label officially launched in March and now on the market might generate more controversy than any of the previous claims.Yesterday, Leaf & Love Lemonade, made by a California company, became the first product in America to be certified as “Glyphosate Residue Free.”
Brazil finds contamination in 8 meat samples, will close other plants
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on April 10, 2017Contamination by bacteria capable of affecting public health was found in eight meat samples from two processing facilities investigated in Brazil's corruption probe “Operation Weak Flesh,” the country's Ministry of Agriculture said Thursday. Other unrelated problems found in two meat processing facilities owned by Peccin, and in a third plant by Central de Carnes Paranaense, located in Colombo (Paraná state), led the government to order the cancellation of their Federal Inspection Service (SIF) registrations, closing them permanently. The Brazilian government didn't give details about the reasons to close those plants
Lab-Grown Meat May Save a Lot More than Farm Animals’ Lives
NBCnews.com | Posted on April 10, 2017Imagine a backyard barbecue where the parents grill burgers and chicken kebabs they've grown from single cells using a home meat-making machine. Meat is essentially muscle tissue, so if it grows naturally from a just few cells into a thick chunk, why can't the same process happen in the lab? Over the past few years, scientists have made progress in figuring out how to use self-renewing cells to grow this tissue outside the body, and some hope to scale it up for mass production soon. You can call it lab-grown, clean, or cultured meat — we have yet to settle on a term — but there's a good chance these products will replace conventional meat because of their potential for reducing environmental cost, increasing health benefits for humans, and protecting the welfare of the animals.
Meal kits resonating with consumers: Harris Poll study
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on April 5, 2017One in four adults bought a meal kit in 2016 and 70 percent of meal kit purchasers are still actively buying meal kits, according to a new Harris Poll.