Elizabeth Crawford

Food and beverage industry stakeholders and consumer advocates are lauding FDA's commitment to enhance its post-market assessment of chemicals in food, but they worry the agency's proposed process is “thin on details,” including lacking sufficient transparency about how it would select ingredients for review, how it will assess their safety and the extent to which the public can contribute.

Manufacturers have just over three years to reformulate packaged snacks, confections and beverages with six common – and controversial – food dyes if they want to continue selling their products in California schools.

New pumpkin spice products continue to hit store shelves as other food and beverage product launches in September usher in the holiday season from Halloween to Rosh Hashanah to Christmas.

McCormick & Co. is holding its own in the hot sauce category as competition heats up thanks in part to the recent launch of mini bottles of fan favorites as well as new flavors, formats and recipe mixes to encourage consumers to pour, squeeze and dip more.

Conagra Brands executives warned investors earlier this year that its fiscal 2025 would start with “plenty of noise,” and it did – including not just anomalies for which the maker of Slim Jim and Healthy Choice planned, but also unexpected dynamics that dragged down organic net sales in the first quarter.

Consumer interest in products made with ingredients from regional smallholder farmers or those practicing regenerative agriculture is on the rise, but CPG companies and suppliers are struggling to meet their demand in part because most farmers are unable to access sufficient capital on their own to scale specialty crops and sustainable growing practices.

A new platform designed by ADM to help food and beverage manufacturers better understand and meet the needs of weight-loss drug users brings together proprietary consumer research and science, a portfolio of targeted ingredients and more than 25 ready-to-go prototypes for rapid product development.

Welch's Fruit Snacks' maker Promotion In Motion (PIM Brands) went too far in ads it intended to humorously highlight the difference between its fruit snacks and those of competitors, and should discontinue messages that suggest competing products are worthless, the BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division determined.

Shellfish sales underwent a sea change in September with lower prices, Labor Day celebrations and stock-ups ahead of back-to-back hurricanes in the Southeast and strikes at major points in early October helping to buoy volumes, according to data from Circana crunched by 210analytics.

Long gone are the days when a deal was sealed with a handshake and verbal commitment, which is why the co-founder of veggie snack startup Theo's advises entrepreneurs to be persistent – but not annoying – about securing commitments in writing before acting.