Regenerative Agriculture, FDA Standards and Organic Product Innovation
Organic food and beverage innovation evolves with new approaches to R&D, marketing and trade association support
What is the difference between regenerative agriculture and certified organic farming?
Organic farming requires a whole-system approach to ensure that products are grown in a way that best supports a healthy, regenerative ecosystem. Organic handlers and processors are required to take special steps to make sure the organic ingredients are not commingled or contaminated with non-organic materials.
Gwendolyn Wyard of the Organic Trade Association helps to define regenerative agriculture and how it differs from organic farming.
Kellogg petitioned the FDA to review fortification regulations for cereals and grain-based bars with Vitamin D
Following a petition from Kellogg Company, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced increases to the fortification levels of Vitamin D allowed within the cereal category and now allows fortification of Vitamin D in grain-based bars.
Kellogg Company is committed to addressing "hidden hunger," or micronutrient deficiencies, through both inherent sources and fortification as part of its Better Days Promise environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. Seeing an opportunity to help improve public health through food, Kellogg petitioned the FDA to review fortification regulations for cereals and grain-based bars with Vitamin D, a nutrient of concern among Americans.
Organic Trade Association wins record funding
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) received a record level of funding of more than $1 million from the US Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP) to promote US organic products around the world in 2023. The award, totaling $1,011,911 in new funding to the association, is an almost 10% increase from the 2022 levels, and the largest MAP award ever received by OTA.
Department of Agriculture statistics show the value of US organic exports nearly doubled between 2011 and 2021 – increasing from around $400 million to just over $700 million – including an almost 10% increase from 2020 to 2021. Canada and Mexico are the United States’ largest export partners, with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the EU, and United Arab Emirates all making the top 10 list for US organic exports.
Serenity Kids launches low sugar, dairy-free smoothies with grass-fed collagen for children
Serenity Kids introduced high-quality, nutrient-rich product offerings with four new innovative Dairy-Free Smoothie + Protein pouch varieties. These are the first-ever baby food products on the market to include protein from grass fed collagen. The four new varieties include: Berry Butternut, Pumpkin Spice, Sweet Potato Spice, and Beet & Carrot.
Current kid-centric smoothies on the market are made with dairy which is hard for many to digest and fruit that is naturally high in sugar. Other organic dairy-free options still contain over 9g of sugar and very few vegetables which tend to be very sweet and can encourage an early preference for sugar in children. Serenity Kids' new shelf-stable Dairy-Free Smoothies reimagine the status quo for the category to offer the first low sugar, vegetable-forward option that boasts nutrient-rich protein from grass-fed collagen to support baby and toddlers' overall health, function, and growth.
With this new line launch, Serenity Kids also intends to increase the age-range of pouches. While babies typically begin to age out of purees around 18 months, the Dairy-Free Smoothies can be enjoyed well into childhood or even by adults. Other established household brands that have created kid-centric or adult snack pouches have validated the popularity of spouted pouches well beyond baby, and now Serenity Kids' Smoothies are a low-sugar, protein-packed alternative to those products.
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