Food News
Mayo, wings, butter: 'Fake milk' is the latest food fight
AP | Posted on March 9, 2017Is "fake milk" spoiling the dairy industry's image? Dairy producers are calling for a crackdown on the almond, soy and rice "milks" they say are masquerading as the real thing and cloud the meaning of milk. A group that advocates for plant-based products, the Good Food Institute, countered this week by asking the Food and Drug Administration to say terms such as "milk" and "sausage" can be used as long as they're modified to make clear what's in them. It's the latest dispute about what makes a food authentic, many of them stemming from developments in manufacturing practices and specialized diets. DiGiorno's frozen chicken "wyngz" were fodder for comedian Stephen Colbert. An eggless spread provoked the ire of egg producers by calling itself "mayo." And as far back as the 1880s, margarine was dismissed as "counterfeit butter" by a Wisconsin lawmaker. The U.S. actually spells out the required characteristics for a range of products such as French dressing, canned peas and raisin bread. It's these federal standards of identity that often trigger the food fights.
Why Campbell's Thinks GMO Labeling Is A Good Thing
Ag Web | Posted on March 3, 2017Few topics in agriculture are as controversial in the public eye as GMOs. For more than two years, the labeling of GMO ingredients on food packaging has been a hot topic. As consumers continue to buy more non-GMO products, one major food company has become a champion of the need for labeling: Campbell Soup Company. “We decided to embrace it,” says Kelly Johnston, the company’s vice president of government affairs, who spoke from the mainstage at the 2017 Top Producer Seminar. Campbell’s research shows a majority of consumers are concerned about GMO labeling, even though they rank other food-related concerns higher. The company’s position developed against a backdrop of changing state laws. In 2014, Vermont became the first state to pass a mandatory GMO labeling law. Connecticut and Maine enacted laws at the same time because of previously passed trigger bills, Johnston says. Regulatory Uncertainty. It’s unclear whether GMO labels will be required by federal law going forward. A compromise bill approved by Congress in 2016 requires mandatory disclosure of GMOs on food packaging, Johnston says. It also instructed USDA to conduct a consumer study and finalize regulations. This January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order mandating agencies to get rid of two existing regulations for every new regulation added. That could prevent USDA from meeting its 2018 deadline given by Congress.
Should People Be Barred From Buying Junk Food With Food Stamps?
Pew Charitable Trust | Posted on February 27, 2017At the food pantry she founded in poor, rural Quitman County, Mississippi, Angie Crawford spends her days teaching food stamp recipients how to shop, cook and eat healthy on a tight budget. Then, at the grocery store, she sees people using food stamps to buy junk food, like big bags of potato chips in bulk. It troubles her. As a nutrition educator for the federal Food Stamp Program — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — Crawford is one of many public health officials across the country who say there should be more rules about how food stamp money is spent. Twenty-three cents of every food stamp dollar is used to buy candy, desserts, salty snacks, sugar and sweetened beverages, according to a November report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that for the first time revealed purchasing habits under the program in detail. The report, along with the election of President Donald Trump, who may be more inclined to tighten welfare rules, has reignited a long-standing debate on whether the government should allow people to use food stamps to buy unhealthy food. Lawmakers in at least five states — Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico and Tennessee — introduced bills this year to ask the USDA for permission to ban the purchase of certain kinds of food or drinks, such as candy and soda, with food stamps. Since the USDA administers the program, states can’t create their own restrictions. But the department can give a state permission to conduct a pilot to test new ideas — something it has so far been unwilling to do.
Irish study says people with highest dairy consumption have lower BMI
Dairy Reporter | Posted on February 24, 2017A new study looking at dairy consumption and its relationship with metabolic health has delivered some promising results for the dairy industry. The study examined the impact of dairy foods on markers of fatness and metabolic health. Cheese consumption was not associated with body fatness or LDL cholesterol.
Germany’s environment minister bans meat at functions
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on February 24, 2017The head of Germany’s environmental agency has directed the department to serve only vegetarian dishes at official functions. Quoting an email from an environmental ministry official, the agency has a responsibility to combat the “negative effects of meat consumption” and must “set an example,” the media reports said. This, although the meat ban does not extend to the agency’s own cafeteria, which continues to offer meat options with every meal. Environmental Minister Barbara Hendricks has claimed that eating meat is damaging to the environment. Meanwhile, Christian Schmidt, an agency official from a rival political party, was quoted as saying, “I believe in diversity and freedom of choice, not nanny-statism and ideology. Meat and fish are also part of a balanced diet.”
Brussels ‘will block’ GM food from Britain
The Times (UK) | Posted on February 24, 2017Plans to grow genetically modified crops in Britain could result in the EU blocking imports of the produce after Brexit, according to a leaked report by European parliament officials. The internal paper, written to guide the parliament’s agriculture committee in its “scrutiny of Brexit”, says that British farmers seeking to sell produce to the remaining 27 member states could be hampered by multiple barriers on top of tariffs averaging 14 per cent. The officials’ note reports that Britain is developing new rules to make GM crop cultivation easier after pulling out of the EU. Political opposition to GM foods in several EU states has resulted in only one GM crop being approved by the bloc in the past 20 years.
Canada approves irradiated ground beef
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on February 24, 2017The Canadian government said Wednesday it will permit the sale of fresh and frozen raw ground beef treated with irradiation.
Illinois new raw milk rules get first legislative tests
Before its news | Posted on February 23, 2017Three bills introduced into the Illinois General Assembly loosen up cottage food sales and promote farmers markets, but apparently are not intended to alter the state’s new raw milk law. Illinois in 2016 aligned itself with the surrounding states of Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin by prohibiting any retail sales of milk without pasteurization. On-farm sales are permitted under new regulations. Raw milk cheese aged 60 days can be sold under a separate permit, but sales of other unpasteurized raw milk products are also prohibited. Three bills, two in the House and one in the Senate, have been introduced in Springfield, making changes for farmers markets and cottage food producers. All three measures, with very similar language, have been assigned to committees.All three call for establishing a state Farmers Market Task Force “to address farmers market vendor complaints regarding the reasonableness of local health departments” fee and sanitation provisions.”The proposals also call for providing farmers market vendors with “effective means to maintain potentially hazardous food at a specific temperature.” That language is apparently intended to allow vendors to use ice chests to keep food cold. Currently refrigerators are required.
Unlikely Allies Seek to Make Vermont's Milk the Cream of the Industry
Seven Days | Posted on February 23, 2017An improbable coalition is calling for dramatic changes to the state's dairy industry. Former agriculture secretary Roger Allbee has joined forces with three longtime environmental activists to argue that depressed milk prices, the need to reduce water pollution, and uncertainty about trade and migrant labor at the federal level present a unique opportunity to reinvigorate Vermont dairy farming. "A perfect storm is brewing," Allbee told the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee earlier this month. "Vermont has the rare opportunity of helping rescue its largest agricultural industry and to plot a future agriculture [system] for the state that is uniquely Vermont." The goal: to develop a set of environmental and ethical standards for dairy farms and build a made-in-Vermont brand that would bring farmers a premium price for their milk. Farms would have to meet those requirements — which could go above and beyond using organic practices — to qualify for using the state seal.
Maple Leaf Meat processor invests in plant-based proteins
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on February 23, 2017Canadian meat processor Maple Leaf Foods announced it has signed a definitive agreement with Brynwood Partners VI L.P. to acquire Lightlife Foods, a leading manufacturer and brand of refrigerated plant-based protein foods in the United States, for $140 million (U.S. dollars) and related costs.