The next tobacco fight? Marketing to children enters UPF debate
Campaigners warn that food companies are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to build brand loyalty from childhood
Regulation, policy & food safety
The ‘Uh-Oh SpaghettiOs’ lawsuit vs the court of public opinion
As online commentators dissect everything from sterilisation processes to consumer behaviour, the dispute offers a glimpse into how food safety claims are increasingly judged in the digital age
Kennedy signals new course for food labels as FDA nears definition for ultra-processed food
A forthcoming federal definition for ultra-processed foods could influence front-of-pack nutrition labeling requirements, product reformulation efforts and compliance timelines across the food industry
Are reformulation demands moving faster than brands can respond? Hear from PepsiCo and industry leaders
As the reformulation goalposts continue to move, experts from PepsiCo, the European Snacks Association, the American Bakers Association, 210 Analytics and FDF Scotland’s Reformulation for Health Programme ask whether manufacturers can keep pace
Fed Up! campaign takes aim at UPFs, but the science debate persists
A new campaign on ultra processed food education highlights systemic nutrition barriers, while food science experts stress the need to define the polarizing term before linking it to health outcomes
Deepfake food fraud threatens global brands
Fake contamination claims, AI-generated complaint letters and manipulated food images are creating a new fraud risk that regulators, delivery platforms and food businesses are struggling to contain
Doritos without drivers? PepsiCo’s autonomous truck rollout sparks logistics debate
PepsiCo’s driverless truck experiment promises faster, cheaper deliveries, but it’s also exposing a growing battle over jobs, safety and the future shape of food supply chains
Campbell and Walmart in court over SpaghettiOs contamination claim
A Florida family is seeking damages after claiming it discovered moving worm-like organisms in a can of SpaghettiOs that had already been partially consumed
Is your food safety at risk from information overload?
New research suggests food manufacturers may be collecting more info than workers can realistically process – with implications for productivity, quality and food safety
Brewing loyalty: How coffee is powering bakery footfall
Coffee’s not just a pick-me-up anymore. It’s helping bakeries pull ahead in a slowing market
Where brands should focus their AI strategy now
AI’s real value may lie in helping consumers choose – not discover
Nestlé and Danone: Baby food pouches under fire as microplastics found
Microplastics detected in Nestlé and Danone baby food pouches spark safety concerns
Less sugar, more pressure: Scotland’s HFSS rules force a food industry rethink
With Scotland’s HFSS restrictions arriving in October, food manufacturers are under mounting pressure to reformulate products without sacrificing taste, texture or brand identity
What will it take to stem diet-related deaths?
From culinary medicine programs to Medicaid managed care, stakeholders at the 2026 Food as Medicine summit outlined a multi-pronged push to make nutrition a cornerstone of US health care
Tariff refunds are available - here’s how to get them right
High rejection rates and a tight 80-day filing window are turning what should be straightforward IEEPA tariff refunds into a high-stakes, error-prone process for small and mid-sized CPG brands
Up the food chain
Europe’s copy-paste problem in US bakery
Why European bakery brands keep getting the US wrong and what it really takes to compete
FDA’s leadership shakeup elevates food program insider amid questions over science, staffing and MAHA influence
With Marty Makary’s abrupt exit, acting commissioner Kyle Diamantas faces skepticism from industry and public health stakeholders over whether he can steer the agency through political pressure, staffing losses and food policy reform
FDA takes aim at BHT and ADA in new post-market food chemical safety program
With BHT and ADA already on their way out of the food supply, some experts question whether FDA’s “swift” action is too little, too late
From cereulide to botulism: Exposing the fault lines in infant nutrition safety
From recalled product remaining on shelves to weak marketing guidance, regulatory gaps across infant nutrition remain stark
US government spends hundreds of millions on biotech pilot plants as national security priority
Defense Department and state matching grants fund BioMADE’s three pilot plants as precision fermentation infrastructure gap forces US companies to manufacture overseas
Do UPFs pose greater risk of plastic packaging harms?
Chemicals from single-use plastics may increase health risk to consumers
Calm in the chaos: How US bakers are fighting back on regulation, reformulation and a restless consumer
At the recent American Bakers Association Convention (ABA), industry leaders made one thing clear – in a volatile market, credibility, collaboration and consumer connection will decide who thrives
When paper packaging fails the sustainability test
While brands like Babybel are showing the shift to paper packaging can work, moving away from plastic is not universally viable. Here’s why
‘Healthy’ has moved on – have snacks?
From fibre and protein to texture and sensation, the new rules of healthy snacking go far beyond cutting sugar, salt and fat
Italy’s antitrust watchdog slaps €23.3m fines on snack makers over alleged private label cartel
The country’s regulator says leading suppliers coordinated private label deals instead of competing for them
Opinion
The toy is back in the box but should it ever have left?
Kellogg’s is reviving cereal box toys and with it, the debate about whether selling breakfast to children should ever feel like a prize draw
SNAP restrictions are reshaping sugary food purchases
Ibotta data shows states prohibiting the use of SNAP funds to buy ‘unhealthy’ products are reshaping sugary beverage and snack demand
Shoppers embrace personalization – but draw the line at AI taking control
While personalized pricing and in-store tech gain approval, nearly half of consumers reject fully agentic AI shopping experiences, according to a new Dunnhumby report
Tariffs on trial: Pending ruling could impact supply costs and grocery prices
Burlap & Barrel’s challenge to the Trump administration’s tariffs in the US Court of International Trade could define how far presidents can stretch decades‑old trade statutes
As food brands tweak child marketing rules, UNICEF’s playbook still holds
As food brands rewrite child‑marketing rules, experts say voluntary action isn’t enough
QR codes on-pack: Smart engagement or the next labelling fight?
They promise transparency and storytelling, but new research suggests QR codes are currently doing far more selling than informing
Looming deadline for state packaging laws places reporting pressure on CPGs
Seven states now require producers to track and report packaging data under extended producer responsibility laws, creating a fast-moving compliance challenge for food and beverage brands, importers and distributors
Toast-time trade-off eases as gene-edited wheat cuts acrylamide risk by 93%
Rothamsted field trials show gene-edited wheat can sharply reduce acrylamide risk in baked and fried foods without denting yield
Hormuz blockade leaves food industry pricing in the dark as volatility becomes the baseline
Escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz are pushing up energy, freight and insurance costs – but the bigger challenge for the global food industry is managing risk in a market that is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
Childhood obesity epidemic drives government’s drastic overhaul of school menus
The UK Government is scrapping high-sugar and deep-fried foods from school menus across the country in a bid to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic.
Iran conflict: The 5 biggest pressure points for food and beverage
The price of oil and transport dominates headlines: but food and beverage companies need to anticipate other potential impacts
Mould, microbes and the $10m mistake food companies keep making
As climate shifts and supply chains stretch, food safety failures are becoming faster, costlier and harder to contain
Can AI really sort the UPF mess the food industry is facing?
New tools promise sharper answers on ultra-processed foods as regulation struggles to keep up
FDA extends deadline as hidden gluten puts regulatory fine-tuning under the spotlight
A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consultation on gluten labelling – now extended – raises fresh questions about how clearly food makers communicate risk
California pushes ‘non-UPF’ seal as certifications multiply and confusion grows
A proposed state-backed label aims to simplify ultra-processed food choices, but could competing definitions and private certifications risk muddying the message for consumers and complicate reformulation efforts?
California’s tortilla rule underscores the shift in market power
The Golden State’s folic acid mandate for corn masa shows how one state is once again reshaping national manufacturing
FDA delays beetroot red and spirulina color approvals amid stakeholder safety and labeling worries
Agency delays effective dates for color additives after GMO/Toxin Free USA and Obelisk Tech Systems challenge safety reviews and ‘no artificial colors’ labeling
Scaling precision fermentation: Why capital and collaboration remain the biggest hurdles
Industry experts cite massive CapEx, supply bottlenecks and regulatory complexity as key barriers
Rising grocery costs loom as Middle East conflicts disrupt supply chains
As oil and fertilizer prices squeeze margins, farmers and manufacturers must make tough decisions on pricing, pack sizes and innovation
Future Food-Tech San Francisco
From climate shocks to GLP-1 impacts: Why the food chain must adapt now
Industry and public-sector leaders say stronger collaboration and smarter policy are essential to building a sustainable, data-informed food system
Are calorie counts wrong or just outdated? David Protein lawsuit sparks debate
A lawsuit challenging the nutrition claims of David Protein bars is putting calorie counts under the microscope and highlighting a deeper debate over how those numbers are determined in the first place.
Sweet proteins promise a sugar reset but new questions are emerging
Oobli’s CEO is betting on protein-based sweetness to cut sugar at scale, but the shift raises uncomfortable questions for regulators, manufacturers and the supply chain
Why Big Food is reformulating growth not just recipes
From halted breakups to billion-dollar buyouts, the world’s biggest food groups aren’t just tweaking products, they’re rethinking how growth works
Glyphosate in baby cereal sparks safety alarm in South Africa
A watchdog report detecting herbicide residues in bread, flour and infant cereal is reigniting the safety debate and putting pressure on regulators to act
Inside Burlap & Barrel’s lawsuit against President Donald Trump
A small US-based spice importer is taking the Trump administration to court over sweeping tariffs it says threaten small businesses and global farming partners