Food-makers are taking salt and sugar out of food. But they’re adding fat.

There may be less sodium and added sugar in packaged foods, but there’s more saturated fat, according to a new USDA report which looked at a large sample of breakfast cereals, yogurts, snacks, candies and frozen/refrigerated meals. Between 2008 and 2012, sugar content of products in all five categories fell, but saturated fat increased statistically in four of those categories, suggesting that changes to those products to meet consumer demand for less sugar and salt may have not actually made them overall healthier. The American Heart Association calls saturated fat a contributor to cardiovascular disease. Read more at The Washington Post…

Kroger to close Main & Vine store after only 23 months

Kroger’s fresh concept store, which opened in 2016, may have failed, but it did so fast and yielded lessons that Kroger says will use to improve upon its other stores. Main & Vine, located in Gig Harbor, Wash., focused on fresh, healthy food and local products, and featured 300 bulk items. Read more at Supermarket News…

Feeling blue? Biotech startup raises $13M to create ‘natural’ color pigments using algae

Seattle-based Lumen Bioscience plans to launch its first product, a blue colorant for food and cosmetics made from spirulina, in early 2018, with help from a $13 million series A round. Read more at GeekWire…

Soy is set to become our biggest crop by acreage. But what are we doing with this soy?

The USDA predicts that in 2019, soybeans will surpass corn as the crop that occupies the most acreage in the U.S. We export about half of the soy produced in the U.S. to China, the EU, Japan, Mexico and Taiwan. Read more at Modern Farmer…

Organic lollipops grow into a herb or flower after they have been eaten

Amborella Organics makes organic lollipops with hints of roses, sage, rosemary, lavender and other herbs, and puts them on a biodegradable stick with heirloom seeds inside. Read more at ConfectioneryNews…