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A St. Louis-based chiropractor and dietary supplement marketer faces monetary penalties for continuing to market vitamin D and zinc products that purport to prevent COVID-19 infections.

After finetuning a diverse range of plant-based meat and seafood that goes far beyond the burger- and sausage-heavy offerings of today, Hungry Planet is ready to ramp up production and distribution of all nine of its proteins across retail, foodservice and e-commerce with the help of $25m in series A funding.

After being demonized for decades and hitting a 30-year low in 2019, per capita flour consumption is on the rise again thanks in part to consumersâ increasingly sophisticated understanding of diet and health and their duel desire to fill their plates during the pandemic with food that is both nutritious and comforting.

Berkeley-based startup Perfect Day has underscored its sustainability credentials with the release of a lifecycle assessment suggesting its ânon-animalâ whey protein - produced by microbes - produces up to 97% fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than whey protein from cows.

Spencer Sheehan â a prolific plaintiffâs attorney in food litigation circles most recently making waves with a flurry of lawsuits over vanilla labeling â has turned his attention to flavored water, with a proposed class action alleging Whole Foods Market is duping shoppers because its lemon raspberry flavored sparkling water doesnât contain an appreciable amount of lemons and raspberries.

Vejii Holdings, an online retailer of plant-based products, has acquired VeganEssentials.com and announced a C$10m capital raise, becoming the largest online marketplace in the US that exclusively sells vegan products, says Vejii CEO Kory Zelickson.

SunOpta has acquired shelf-stable plant-based beverage brands Dream and Westsoy from Hain Celestial in a $33m deal as it ramps up its presence in the dairy alternative segment.

PepsiCo sales during the first three months of the year sailed passed the high bar set last year when the pandemic inspired pantry loading, despite challenges during the quarter, including temporary business disruptions due to the severe winter storms that hit Texas and the South.

The US House of Representatives has voted on and passed a piece of legislation -- the FASTER Act -- that would make sesame the ninth ingredient subject to mandatory allergen labeling in the US. The bill now heads to President Biden to be signed into law.

With this weekâs appointment of industry veteran Paul Nardone as the new CEO of HIPPEAS, the organic chickpea snack brand is building an all-star executive team with a strong track record of high-profile exits to help it leverage pandemic-inspired shifts in shopping to get closer to consumers and meet their demand for plant-based, better-for-you snacks.

Meati Foods and Atlast Food Co - two fungi-fueled startups blazing a trail in the alternative meat market with âwhole cutâ products made from mycelium, the fibrous root structure of mushrooms â have both announced significant funding this week as they scale up production ahead of large-scale commercial launches.

FDA is not worried about the safety of specific lots of canola seed and âa small number of canola fieldsâ for human and animal consumption that inadvertently were contaminated with low levels of two new genetically modified varieties of canola seed currently undergoing premarket food safety reviews.

Leading hemp/CBD firm CV Sciences is partnering with Alkemist Labs and a government agency to improve the state of the art in cannabinoids testing.

While a downturn in sales for snack bars in the past year suggest consumer demand has softened, snacking behavior has hit a fever pitch and innovation in this set is hotter than ever as brands evolve to meet shifting consumer demands.

Canadian chickpea pasta brand Chickapea has closed a CAD$9.3m Series C funding round co-led by District Ventures Capital, InvestEco Capital, and Export Development Canada (EDC) to support new product innovation and the brand's distribution growth across Canada and the US.

With the consolidation of eight businesses under one simplified corporate structure and a strong track record of driving growth despite pandemic-related challenges, specialty lender eCapital Corp. is poised to offer upwards of 25% more financing this year than last to fast-growing startups in industries âessential to everyday life,â including food, beverage & health.

Buyers on online discovery platform RangeMe - which is used by retailers from Whole Foods to Walmart to identify new products and suppliers - are increasingly using it as a tool to identify brands that align with corporate social responsibility goals, says SVP Brandon Leong, who said searches for products from businesses that are certified as minority-owned or women-owned have surged in recent months.

Territory Foods, a fresh-prepared direct-to-consumer (DTC) meal delivery service that partners with local chefs to create flavorful nutritionist-designed dishes, has closed a $22m funding round led by US Venture Partners.

This year promises to be a âblockbuster yearâ for snacking innovation after 2020 saw drastically fewer new products hit stores than previous years, but of those that did launch the best sellers catered to Americansâ pandemic-influenced demands â portending what likely will do well in the coming year, according to the Chicago-based consumer research firm IRI Worldwide.

Compliance with the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) â which requires firms with annual sales of >$2.5m to label âbioengineeredâ foods, beverages, and supplements â is mandatory from January 1, 2022. So is the industry up to speed? Itâs a pretty mixed bag, according to labeling experts.