FERN’s Ag Insider reports: USDA’s top lawyer says politics has nothing to do with the recent reassignment of senior officers.

Of course it doesn’t.

Stephen Vaden, the former Trump transition official now serving as the USDA’s interim chief lawyer, says politics played no part in the reassignment of 13 of the department’s top-rank and highest-paid civil servants since the new administration took office. Four of the career employees retired rather than accept the new posts.  “All reassignments were based on organizational need,” said Vaden in a seven-page letter released within hours of a request from all 10 Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee for information about the personnel moves.

Does he really think anyone believes this?

Statements from USDA these days are easily interpreted.  They mean the opposite.

Let’s start with the report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG).  Now that the Food Safety Modernization Act gave the FDA the authority to issue recalls of unsafe food, the OIG wanted to know how it was using that authority.  OIG’s opinion:

FDA did not always have an efficient and effective food-recall process that ensured the safety of the Nation’s food supply. We identified deficiencies in FDA’s oversight of recall initiation, monitoring of recalls, and the recall information captured and maintained in FDA’s electronic recall data system, the Recall Enterprise System (RES). Specifically, we found that FDA could not always ensure that firms initiated recalls promptly and that FDA did not always

(1) evaluate health hazards in a timely manner,

(2) issue audit check assignments at the appropriate level, (

3) complete audit checks in accordance with its procedures,

(4) collect timely and complete status reports from firms that have issued recalls,

(5) track key recall data in the RES, and (6) maintain accurate recall data in the RES.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb responded to the OIG report.

The FDA has authority to act in a variety of ways when it is made aware of an unsafe food product. But often the fastest and most efficient way to ensure unsafe foods are recalled quickly is by working directly with the involved companies while simultaneously providing the public with timely, accurate information that they can act on….Fortunately, most companies are cooperative and rapidly initiate a voluntary recall of a hazardous food product. On average, the recall occurs within four calendar days of the problem being discovered…Sometimes the recall process does not work as well as we’d like.’

In that response, he explains that the FDA has more work to do.   He also says so on Twitter.

Politico’s Dan Diamond interviewed Gottlieb last week. As Politico Morning Agriculture puts it, “Pour coffee & listen here” to the interview.

In the meantime, CSPI and other food-safety advocacy groups are asking the FDA to reveal the names of retailers that are selling recalled products.  What they—and food safety lawyer Bill Marler—are also arguing is that the FDA needs to release the names of retailers who are selling recalled goods as a measure to help consumers protect themselves.  The FDA appears to consider this information proprietary.  If so, it is putting business profits above public health and should rethink that policy.

As the Washington Post puts it, the FDA’s interpretation

differs from that of other agencies in the federal food safety system, an overlapping and often illogical network of regulatory fiefdoms. The system, which is responsible for keeping food free of bacteria and other pathogens, frequently has to weigh the very real interests of private food companies against potential risks to the public. In the case of releasing retailer lists during major outbreaks, the FDA has historically sided with business, ruling that such lists constitute “confidential commercial information” and thus should not be available for public consumption.

Documents 

• The OIG’s preliminary findings in 2016
• The OIG report summary 
• The full OIG report
• USA Today’s account
• The New York Times’ account

At last some good news: New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a “No Student Goes Hungry” program.  

It has five components:

• End lunch shaming: First, it will prohibit any public act to humiliate a student who cannot afford lunch. Second, it will ban alternative lunches and require students to receive the same lunch as others starting in the 2018-19 school year.
• Require Breakfast “After the Bell”: in order to allow students to have breakfast and to prevent them from going hungry during morning classes, Governor Cuomo will propose requiring schools with more than 70 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch to provide breakfast after the school day has begun for the next school year. the state will provide technical assistance and capital funds for equipment such as coolers and vending machines to support breakfast after the bell. An estimated $7 million in capital funds will support expanded breakfast for 1,400 schools.
• Expand the Farm to School Program: New York will double the state’s investment in the Farm to School program to support the use of healthy, local, New York foods in school districts across the state.
• Increase the Use of Farm-Fresh, Locally Grown Foods at School: To incentivize school districts to use more local farm-fresh products, Governor Cuomo will propose an increase in the reimbursement schools receive for lunches from the current 5.9 cents per meal to 25 cents per meal for any district that purchases at least 30 percent ingredients from New York farms.
• Require Food Pantries on All SUNY and CUNY Campuses: To ensure consistent healthy food options are available to young adults on college campuses, the Governor will require all SUNY and CUNY schools to either provide physical food pantries on campus, or enable students to receive food through a separate arrangement that is stigma-free.

Advocates are thrilled; a coalition of 70 organizations issued a statement supporting the proposal.

This, of course is just a proposal.  The New York State legislature still has to pass it.

But it is a great proposal, deserving of enthusiastic support.  New York residents: if you agree with the proposals, write your representatives and say so.  Now.

How?

The Institute of Food Technology publishes a newsletter.  IIts December 27 issue provides a roundup of food-trend predictions from a bunch of sources.

I’ve picked out a few examples from among the long lists.

The editors of Food Technology: Animal Welfare Versus Price: The stigma of conventionally produced animal products will decrease as consumers realize that they cannot or will not absorb the higher costs associated with “humanely raised” beef, poultry, and pork.  —Toni Tarver, Senior Technical Editor

McCormick: Handheld Flavor Fusion: Take to the streets for the latest fusing of global cuisines. Carts, trucks, and food halls are merging high-flavor fillings with unique crepes, buns, and breads for loaded street fare you eat with your hands. Arepas are a taco-sandwich hybrid made from crispy corn cakes stuffed with sliced meat, veggies, and spicy tzatziki sauce.

Firmenich has announced fig as “Flavor of the Year” for 2018 based on the growing appeal for this healthy and fruity flavor worldwide. Long touted for its culinary uses as well as its health benefits—including its high fiber content and a variety of essential minerals such as magnesium, manganese, calcium, and potassium—fig has surged in popularity in recent years.

Innova Market Insights: the global market for dairy alternative drinks is expected to reach $16.3 billion in 2018, up dramatically from $7.4 billion in 2010….As consumers become more concerned about naturalness and minimal processing techniques, the industry is reviving traditional processes such as fermented foods and cold brew tea and coffee, alongside the development of new ones.

Whole Foods: Because powders are so easy to incorporate, they’ve found their way into lattés, smoothies, nutrition bars, soups, and baked goods. For an energy boost or an alternative to coffee, powders like matcha, maca root, and cacao are showing up in mugs everywhere. Smoothie fans are raising a glass to powders like spirulina, kale, herbs, and roots. Even protein powders have evolved beyond bodybuilders to pack in new nutrients like skin- and hair-enhancing collagen.

Mintel: Concerns over safe packaging disposal will increasingly color consumers’ perceptions of different packaging types, and impact shopper purchase decisions. While collecting waste plastic from the sea to recycle into new packaging can raise consumer awareness, it won’t solve the problem. In order to keep plastic out of the sea, a renewed effort toward the circular economy is needed to keep packaging material in use.

National Restaurant Association: According to the survey, menu trends that will be heating up in 2018 include donuts with non-traditional filling, ethnic-inspired kids’ dishes, farm/estate-branded items, and heritage-breed meats. Trends that are cooling down include artisan cheeses, heirloom fruits and vegetables, and house-made charcuterie.

Sterling Rice Group: Moringa is the Thinga: Consumers just can’t get enough of the green, which is why we predict that moringa—a superfood derived from the dried leaves of the “tree of life”—will be popular in 2018 and beyond. With more protein, fiber, calcium, and vitamins than matcha, watch for moringa to become the next matcha or golden milk.

CCD Innovation: Cannabis Cuisine: Ready or not, modern and artisan THC- and CBD-enhanced cuisine goes beyond brownies in 2018 thanks to “potrepreneurs” at all levels.

Grubhub:  10 dishes expected to rise in popularity in 2018 (based on orders in 2017):

1. Lettuce chicken wraps
2. Poke
3. Bulgogi bibimbap
4. Roasted cauliflower
5. Spicy tonkotsu ramen
6. Kimchi fries
7. Cinnamon buns
8. Pumpkin soup
9. Brisket sandwich
10. Yellowtail belly

I knew you would want to know.

The Hartman Group has an infographic on the most prominent trends and insights in the culture of foods & beverages in 2017.  That was the year that was.

Elaine Watson at Food Navigator-USA says we should be watching these ten trends in 2018.

1. Cellular agriculture: cell-cultured meat, fish, etc.
2. Plant-based innovation: chickpea proteins and the like
3. GMO labeling (and non-GMO claims): rules for these are still pending
4. Clean label 2.0: these encompass everything from additives to sustainability
5. Health confusion (and is saturated fat really back?)
6. Sugar under fire: reduce, replace
7. Protein…still hot?
8. Fermentation on fire; probiotics hit the mainstream
9. The Amazon effect
10. Big Food in a funk

She has interesting things to say about all of these.  Take a look and keep score as the year progresses.

To start the new year, I’m going to post predictions, starting with Rabobank’s newsletter on food trends.  This is always worth reading (thanks Nick Fereday).

Its most recent Talking Points gives the results of a survey of 200 professionals (including me) about their thoughts about food trends in 2017, heading into 2018.

It ends with a long list of comments collected from those who wrote in.  Here is a small sample.  The last one, under WTF, is mine.