Food News, Top Organic News of 2015

Flavorchem announced a line of non-GMO flavors and Organics listed the top 10 organic developments in 2015.

Flavorchem Corp. announced a new line of Non- GMO Project Verified flavors, including cocoa, coffee, orange, lime, peppermint and lemon. Additional verified flavors are continuously being added to its product line.

“Flavorchem always takes a proactive approach by introducing new non-GMO ingredients, as the demand for health and wellness products expands into all segments of the food and beverage industry," said Edward McIntosh, marketing manager at Flavorchem. 

In other news, the nation’s leading food companies agreed to use uniform nutrition standards for the products they advertise to children, and during 2014—the first full year under the new standards—they virtually always met those commitments. The news comes from the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), a voluntary advertising self-regulation program that is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). This program was established for responsible food companies to change what foods they advertised to children because of concerns about childhood obesity.

The Report on Compliance and Progress During 2014, issued on Dec. 21, 2015, summarized CFBAI’s progress and compliance assessment based on comprehensive independent monitoring and review of the children’s food advertising landscape. The 17 companies that participated in CFBAI in 2014 are among the nation’s leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and quick-serve restaurants (QSRs) and represent the majority of food advertising on children’s programming.

The Report noted that last year CFBAI monitored more than 4,000 ads on children’s media. “Overall compliance was outstanding," said CFBAI’s deputy director, Maureen Enright, who oversees compliance monitoring. “Occasionally, we found that an ad for a food that did not meet CFBAI’s nutrition criteria had aired on child-directed programming or in digital media, and each time our participant promptly addressed the issue. The companies work hard to maintain systems and procedures to ensure their ad buys on children’s media are only for foods that meet CFBAI’s nutrition criteria."

2015 was a big year for the U.S. organic sector. Organic demand flourished. Organic products of all types sprouted up everywhere--at our local supermarkets, online, even at our favorite fast-food restaurant. Major organic policies—including the drive for an unprecedented organic research and promotion check-off--advanced in Washington. American organic grabbed a bigger spotlight on the world stage, and new research continued to prove the far-reaching benefits of organic.

"Organic reached many milestones in 2015. We saw real breakthroughs in organic being recognized as a healthy option for consumers, a greener option for agriculture and our environment, and a serious option to help meet global food needs," said Organic Trade Association (OTA) Executive Director and CEO Laura Batcha. "Organic is leading the way to a healthier food and agricultural system, and OTA looks forward to helping organic advance even more next year."

During 2015, organic demand flourished and organic products of all types sprouted up everywhere. Major organic policies, including the drive for an unprecedented organic research and promotion check-off-, advanced in Washington. American organic grabbed a bigger spotlight on the world stage, and new research continued to prove the far-reaching benefits of organic.

"Organic reached many milestones in 2015. We saw real breakthroughs in organic being recognized as a healthy option for consumers, a greener option for agriculture and our environment, and a serious option to help meet global food needs," said Organic Trade Association (OTA) executive director and CEO Laura Batcha. "Organic is leading the way to a healthier food and agricultural system, and OTA looks forward to helping organic advance even more next year."

A look at the top 10 organic developments in 2015: