Pandemic might have improved the FDA's new food safety blueprint

Soon, the Food and Drug Administration will release the outline of its plans to build a digital, traceable and safer food system—a blueprint that was schedule to be released when the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States. This pandemic not only shows how urgently we need this change, but it highlighted which changes might be most important in a crisis. Read more at FDA.gov…

Dear white people: 5 truths black colleagues need you to know

For racial diversity to be more than just a catchphrase, white people need to listen to black people. That means white entrepreneurs, manufacturers and retailers need to lead the conversations. Forbes contributor Dana Brownlee offers a hard look at how workplace problems and how the cultures need to change. Read more at Forbes…

How King Arthur got its flour back

When the nation's oldest bakery realized an isolated population was turning its lonely eyes to flour, King Arthur Flour Co. looked to its mills and copackers for assistance. The increased sales mid-March essentially wiped out the company's "strategic flour reserve" as new bakers inundated its help line with questions. Read more at Bloomberg…

Pandemic snackers find comfort in conventional cracker, cookies

Although many people have been baking their way through the endless days of stay-at-home orders, many have also turned to snacking on conventional and definitely not better-for-you cookies and crackers. And it's not just work-from-home folks comforting themselves and their kids with an old favorite; some products' sales surge is coming from first-time buyers. Read more at The New York Times…

Has OSHA failed the country's food-chain workers?

Labor advocated and legislators wondering why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration hasn't created and enforced a workplace standard to keep food supply employees healthy during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the agency issued voluntary guidance statements and, instead of inspecting workplaces in response to complaints, simply offered advice to employers. As food workers, especially meat packers, continue to get sick and die of COVID-19, more than 100 Democrats in Congress have co-sponsored legislation requiring OSHA to create an emergency standard for workplace safety during the pandemic. Read more at Civil Eats…