Tofurky manufacturer Turtle Island Foods and other plant-based meat advocates are pressing the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reverse a federal judge’s decision not to block Missouri from enforcing its “fake meat” labeling law, arguing the ruling ignored the potential harm to companies from the state statute.

The Trump administration hopes to secure a US-UK trade deal this year, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday (Jan. 23). Meanwhile, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue will travel to Europe next week to discuss ag issues and several Senators again pressed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the issue of plant-based products marketed with dairy terms.

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Farmer engagement on trade policy remains an important issue even after the recent conclusion of key trade pacts like the US-Mexico-China Agreement (USMCA) and the Phase One US-China deal, Farmers for Free Trade (FFT) Executive Director Angela Marshall Hofmann told 2020 American Farm Bureau Convention attendees during a workshop last week.

FDA lifted the consumer advisory on Salinas-grown romaine lettuce and announced all three E. coli outbreaks were over Wednesday (Jan. 15), but a consumer advocate questioned whether the probe once again will leave too few clues to help industry prevent future cases of foodborne illness.

FDA has rejected two petitions to add isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO) to the list of dietary fibers on food labels after not being convinced by the science pointing to improved laxation and blood cholesterol levels.

FDA is adding one more substance – konjac glucomannan – to the isolated or synthetic fibers that can qualify as fiber on the new Nutrition Facts panels (NFP) that came into effect Jan. 1.

Protecting children from harmful marketing practices for products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) is a human rights issue and governments that are a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) “have a duty to protect, respect and fulfil children’s right to health,” according to a major new report from the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF).

Impossible Food’s plan to market new “Impossible Pork” products violates federal food labeling laws because the product is not pork-based, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) said Tuesday (Jan. 7).

Bayer has fired off its first legal salvo in its appeal of a federal court ruling that awarded a cancer victim some $80 million in damages because of alleged exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicides, arguing the judge made a series of errors and that the claims are preempted by federal law.

Legislation introduced Wednesday (Dec. 11) by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) would require plant-based meat alternatives and cell meat products to be labeled as “imitation” meat and establish a federal definition of beef that applies to food labels.

US agricultural exports rose in October, starting Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 with a solid trade surplus. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving ahead with its plan to replace and repeal a controversial Obama-era rule that rankled many in agriculture while a supplement maker has settled with the government over deceptive ad claims.

The ice cream brand is accused of breaching consumer trust claiming that milk and cream used in some of its products are sustainably sourced from farms participating in its ‘Caring Dairy’ programme.

Pointing to labels on 19 beverages, a consumer group is asking FDA to go after companies that use “low sugar,” and “reduced sugar” claims on drinks high in added sugar, as well as to write a new regulation that sets standards for authorizing “low added sugar” claims.

Making sweeping changes to food standards of identity may open Pandora’s Box, a consumer group warned FDA’s Susan Mayne this week, but there are steps FDA could take to promote healthier foods.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has made changes to a 2016 labeling guidance that clarifies the use of "bioengineered" for companies showing no GE ingredients were used in meat, poultry, and egg products.

President Donald Trump said he will sign the Phase One US-China trade deal Jan. 15 at the White House. Meanwhile, a court rejected a lawsuit challenging use of the term “diet” to market low-calorie soda and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan rates edged down slightly for January.

The US market for CBD products will be worth between $2.25-2.75 billion next year, according to a deliberately conservative estimate.

California has hit back at a bid by ag and food industry interests to upend its decision to add glyphosate to the state’s Proposition 65 list of cancer-causing chemicals, suggesting the plaintiffs’ concerns about the impact of the listing are speculative and unwarranted.

From defining “healthy” to modernizing standards of identity, and perhaps taming the raging debate over whether plant-based dairy alternatives should be labeled with traditional dairy terms, FDA has plenty of controversial labeling issues to deal with in 2020.

FDA reaffirmed soy leghemoglobin as a color additive in ground beef analogue products, dismissing objections and a request for a hearing by the Center for Food Safety (CFS), which challenged FDA’s safety decision.

FDA is seeing a dramatic drop in Class 1 allergen recalls, a trend credited to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and its allergen control provisions, said Michael Roosevelt, deputy director, Office of Compliance in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Senate approval today (Jan. 16) of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) implementing legislation by an 89-10 vote drew strong praise from ag groups, who pointed to the potential trade gains and certainty that will come with ratification the accord.

Bridging the gap between the US and European Union (EU) on global trade issues is key to promoting shared values on free and fair trade, but more work is needed on that front, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said at an event hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) today (Jan. 16).

The Trump administration considers imposing higher duties on EU agri-food exports as it looks to intensify the pressure on Brussels in an aerospace subsidy dispute.