Each day at 5 p.m. we collect the five top food and supplement headlines of the day, making it easy for you to catch up on today's most important natural products industry news.

March 22, 2017

2 Min Read
5@5: Debate over organic check-off | California bill proposes labeling synthetic food dyes

One of the biggest fights in food is about to become a civil war

The introduction of organic check-off proposal, and the impending vote on it, has brought to the surface some tensions within the organic community. The proposed Generic Research and Promotion Order for Organic program differs from other industry check-off programs because of its breadth—anyone who grows, processes or imports certified organic products would be covered, meaning they would pay into it and presumably benefit from it (but small farmers and processors could opt out). However, that breadth is one point that some critics don't like. They say it would be challenging for the projects and research funded by the check-off to address the needs of everyone who pays into it. Some also fear that the check-off would shortchange small farmers, who played a critical role in building the organic certification. Others say organic's priority should be increasing domestic supply, not creating more demand. Read more at New Food Economy...

 

New California bill could be first in nation to require food dye labeling

Although many major food manufacturers and restaurants have been working to eliminate use of synthetic food dyes, Sen. Bob Wieckowski's new bill would require companies that do use them to place warning labels on products. The European Union has required warning labels on products containing six synthetic colors since 2008, based on research that found links behind them and behavior changes in children. Read more at Civil Eats...

 

Now, California's almonds are getting destroyed by too much rain

First it was a drought. Now it's record rainfall that is killing some of the state's top crops. Too much rain has kept bees from pollinating almond trees, among other problems. Read more at Grub Street...

 

Health food startup using crickets to crack into protein bar market

There's a new cricket bar startup in town called Coast Protein. The Canadian company sources powdered crickets from an organic farm in Ontario and blends them with natural ingredients into snack bars. It recently launched a Kickstarter campaign that has exceeded $30,000. Read more at North Shore News...

 

Cheerios gave away flower seeds to save the bees, but they could do harm

The brand gave away 1.5 billion wildflower seeds in an effort to aid ailing bee populations, but the move has created some undesired buzz: Cheerios apparently sent out some seeds that are banned or deemed invasive in some states, or that aren't native to any part of the U.S. Read more at USA Today...

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