K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following news is from BaltimoreSun on December 11, 2014.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting on a decline in the number of special investigative agents and enforcement cases at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "The number of NOAA special agents who specialize in complex investigations has been cut by more than a third, from 147 to 93, since 2008, with further cuts in the works. Enforcement cases nationwide have fallen even further." "the number of NOAA special agents who specialize in complex investigations has been cut by more than a third, from 147 to 93, since 2008, with further cuts in the works. Enforcement cases nationwide have fallen even further." This is during a time when there is lots of mislabeling, species substitution and short-weighting of seafood products which harms the fishing industry and cheats consumers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Seafood List of acceptable market names is never enforced at the restaurant level where two-thirds of all seafood is consumed and where a vast majority of these bait-and-switch schemes uncovered by DNA tests are found.

The following news is from Thisfish.info on December 11, 2014.

On December 13, 2014 " new European Union regulations (No. 1379/2013) come into force that will require seafood to be labeled with detailed information on its harvesting and production. That’s in sharp contrast to the minimal and convoluted requirements in the United States and Canada." "Mandatory information on consumer labels will include:

• Commercial and scientific species name;
• Production method such as "caught," "caught in freshwater" or "farmed;"
• Catch Area that includes the FAO area, sub-area or division for marine fisheries, body of water for freshwater fisheries and country of production for farmed species;
• Fishing gear including one of the following types: seines, trawls, gillnets and similar nets, surrounding nets and lift nets, hooks and lines, dredges, and pots and traps;
• Defrosted, if a product was previously frozen;
• Best before date or “Use by” date regarding the durability or shelf life of the product; and
• List of allergens"

The following news is from NY Times on December 9, 2014.

As nutrition science is evolving, the experts now are allowing moderate amount of saturated fats. The New York Times reported that schmatz is now finding a new, younger audience.

The following news is from JTA and INNon December 10, 2014.

A 5-4 majority of the Polish Constitional Tribunal ruled on Wednesday that the ban on ritual slaughter is unconstitional. The ruling stated that "religious freedom is a supreme value in accordance with the Constitution of Poland and stands above any other law and is not restricted." This overthows a January 1, 2013 ban based on a 1997 Polish law that banned slaughter without prior stunning.

The following news is from modernfarmer and Bioengineers Create Vegan Milk on November 25, 2014.

Muufir is using bioengineering to create a vegan milk. "To make it, they add chemically synthesized cow DNA to yeast cells, then harvest the cultures the yeast grows. (It’s kind of like a sourdough starter.) From there, they added things like calcium and potassium and emulsify the mixture into milk. They tinkered with the ratios to create something that tastes and feels like cow’s milk, but left out lactose, using a different sugar instead to make it drinkable for the lactose intolerant."

The following news is from True Source Honey on November 25, 2014.

"The True Source Honey Certification Program, whose mission it is to protect consumers, retailers and manufacturers from illegally sourced honey, has issued an alert concerning honey labeled as coming from Turkey." Poor quality honey has been trans-shipped to other countries and labeled as if they come from that country to avoid anti-dumping duties. Currently honey from Turkey is being sold at below market prices which is similar to what has been done in the past with other trans-shipped Chinese honey. The volume of Turkish honey imported into the US has increased 10-fold in three years.
US companies can be procecuted if it has been shown that they knowingly purchased illegaliy imported honey. In the past Chinese honey has been presented as having originated in Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand and Vietnam, instead of China.

The following news is from the FoodManufacturing.com on November 24, 2014.

There is an international boom in quinoa. Quinoa is being factory-farmed in Peru and that grain is being smuggled into Bolivia and is being mixed with or sold as organic Bolivian quinoa.
"A decade ago, Peru accounted for just 6 percent of global sales while Bolivia had 90 percent, according to U.N. figures. But Peru is on track to supplant Bolivia this year as the top exporter, having doubled production from 2013 to 95,000 metric tons amid strong demand from the U.S. and Europe.
"Peru's higher output stems from greater use of insecticides and chemical fertilizers as agribusiness steps up cultivation in coastal valleys, where there are two harvests a year compared to one in the highlands." The quinoa from Peru is a smaller grain. There is very little organic quinoa produced in Peru.
Organic quinoa now fetches up to $10 a pound retail in the United States, with non-organic available for as much as half that price.
"Prices for Peru's white-seed coastal "sweet" quinoa have been consistently dropping. The coastal quinoa is more apt to be contaminated by pesticide overuse because it grows on land previously occupied by other crops." There are fewer bugs in the harsh climate of the Bolivian highlands.

The following news is from the Supermarket News on November 18, 2014.

"Associated Food Stores on Tuesday said that it had agreed to a new supply agreement with C&S Wholesale Grocers, which is acquiring Associated’s former supplier, White Rose."
"C&S will provide warehouse, transportation and procurement services for Associated, the Hewlett, N.Y.-based retailer which licenses the Associated, Compare, Met, Met Fresh and Metropolitan City Markets banners to more than 350 independently owned and operated supermarkets in metro New York. C&S, Keene, N.H., is in the process of acquiring White Rose as part of its deal to buy Associated Wholesalers out of bankruptcy."

The following news is from the Food Manufacturing and FoodNavigator on November 7, 2014.

A paper in the ACS' Journal of Proteome Research has shown that people with celiac disease also react to non-gluten proteins in wheat. This can affect how people with celiac are treated.

The following news is from the Gourmet Business on November 4, 2014.

Gourmet Business included Farm to Table Kosher in their listing of Food Trends for 2015. These are products that "address consumer demand to eat in more sustainable, conscious and cultural ways".