Tucked into President Barack Obama’s 2016 budget outline is a plan that would radically alter the responsibilities of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as other agencies by creating a stand-alone, federally funded food safety unit. “A single Federal food safety agency would provide focused, centralized leadership,...
Albany, NY—Rats running amok and other unsanitary conditions have Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to crack down harder on many of the nation’s food facilities. The senator submitted a three-point plan for addressing the alleged food safety crisis. First, any facility hit...
Washington, D.C.—More organic farmers and handlers will soon be exempt from paying for the marketing and research of conventional agricultural products, due to a new proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The collective savings involved for organic stakeholders may amount to $13.6 million annually, according to USDA...
Chicago, IL—Generation Z (includes ages 0–23) and Millennials (ages 24–37) are the primary groups behind a recent rise in consumption of fresh foods, according to new market research from NPD Group. Fresh food, including fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish and eggs, has become more popular over the last 10 years,...
A newly available Web domain is beginning to be adopted by organic groups and companies. Global registry services provider Afilias made .organic available as an alternative to common domains like .com or .org back in August of 2014. It is only available to companies that sell at least some certified...
The Specialty Food Foundation, a philanthropic program of the Specialty Food Association, just awarded $250,000 in grants to 14 food recovery and hunger relief groups. Recipients include Ceres Community Project, Sebastopol, CA; Farmer Foodshare, Chapel Hill, NC and 12 others. The Foundation was created in Spring 2014. Boulder, CO-based...
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) submitted two petitions to the National Organic Program based on feedback from its members. OTA wants changes to the National List of substances allowed in organic. Specifically, the group asked for current rules that allow natural flavors in organic products to be revised so...
The logo of organic food certifying agency Organic Certifiers (OC) has been added to the product packaging of Bragg Live Food Products, Ventura, CA. Bragg has partnered with OC on its certification since 2004. San Antonio-TX based NatureSweet Tomatoes partnered with Susan G. Komen to fundraise in support of...
Louisville, KY—The chia seed boom is in full swing, as consumers nationwide are seeking it out due to its growing reputation as a nutritious and versatile addition to the diet. American companies, however, have been sourcing chia primarily from Latina American nations and Australia to meet demand. Recently, a company...
As the several year-old drought in California wears on with no end in sight, the state’s agriculture industry is scrambling for answers. Perhaps the hardest hit sector is organic dairy, where regulations make it harder to maintain business as usual through a severe lack of rainfall. California is the nation’s...
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