The raging legal battle over what makes a food ‘natural’

Lawsuits related to “natural” food labeling were down in 2016 but appear to be back on the upswing this year. The Washington Post counted 19 so far this year—compared to 27 such suits in all of last year. They include a class-action lawsuit against Sargento that alleges its “natural” cheeses aren’t natural because the cows that produce the company’s milk eat genetically modified feed. It’s been more than a year since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that it would look into further defining “natural” and how it can be used on product marketing and packaging, but the agency has yet to provide any guidance. A spokeswoman said FDA is “currently reviewing comments … to determine next steps.” Read more at The Washington Post…

USDA sued for missing deadline to publish GMO-labeling study

The Center for Food Safety has sued agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for missing the July 2017 deadline by which the agency was supposed to finalize a study on QR codes on genetically modified foods that would inform draft rules for the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. A spokesman for USDA said the agency has received the study and is reviewing it. Read more at Natural Products Insider…

Organic Doritos give snack giant a way into the new Whole Foods

PepsiCo Inc.’s new line of chips and snacks without artificial ingredients meet the criteria required to be sold in Whole Foods Market, according to a PepsiCo executive, who says the company sees an opportunity to reach new customers and charge higher prices by targeting natural and organic shoppers. So far, though, the retailer hasn’t shown signs of embracing similar staple conventional brands trying to clean up their ingredients. Amazon, however, might be a gateway. Read more at Bloomberg…

Wheat nerds and scientists join forces to build a better bread

At an annual event called the Grain Gathering, bakers, millers and scientists put their heads together to brainstorm and showcase new whole-grain creations, like a whole wheat croissant and new varieties of wheat. Read more at Wired…

FitGenie is applying AI to automate nutrition planning

A bootstrapping team of former Georgia Tech students has developed an iOS app that applies machine learning algorithms that factor in body composition, hunger, fatigue and other metrics to simplify planning for people who want to lose weight. Read more at Tech Crunch…