K A S H R U T . C O M_©

Unilever to cut 7,500 jobs and spin off ice cream business

March 19, 2024 - from the Food Dive:

• "Unilever plans to spin off its ice cream business as part of a sweeping restructuring plan designed to create “a simpler, more focused company.”
• "The Ben & Jerry’s manufacturer said ice cream has “distinct characteristics” compared to other parts of its business, including its presence in frozen, more seasonality and a greater capital intensity. As a standalone entity, the management team will have the flexibility to grow ice cream and allocate capital and resources in a business with a specific strategy.
• "The consumer goods company also announced it would cut about 7,500 jobs as part of the restructuring effort designed to increase sales, cut costs and boost productivity. Unilever currently employs about 128,000 people.

"Unilever, which makes everything from Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Magnum ice cream bars to Dove soap and Axe deodorant, said it would benefit by running a focused portfolio of strong brands in highly attractive categories.

"Once the restructuring is complete, Unilever will be left with four business segments: beauty and wellbeing, personal care, home care and nutrition.

"Unilever said its ice cream division, which makes Good Humor, Talenti, Breyers, Popsicle and Klondike, would most likely be listed as a separate entity. It could also choose to sell the business.

"The separation of ice cream also would help Unilever distance itself from Ben & Jerry’s, a brand known for its social activism platform that often has led to tension with its corporate parent. In 2022, the brand known for quirky flavors like Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey sued Unilever after it divested its business in Israel without its consultation."

Israel Thwarts Smuggling of 315 Kg of Meat From Palestinian Authority

March 7, 2024 - from the Jewish Press:

"Israeli Agriculture Ministry inspectors thwarted attempts to smuggle 315 kg of chicken and mutton from the Palestinian Authority in two separate incidents.

"In one incident, at the Meitar checkpoint south of Hebron, an Israeli man in his 30s was caught trying to smuggle 215 kg. of mutton into Israel. Authorities said the meat was found unrefrigerated in the trunk of his car and did not have the required veterinary documentation. Some of the meat had been imported from Spain.

"The driver admitted intended to take the mutton to markets in Ofakim.

"In the second incident, a private vehicle was stopped at the Hashmonaim crossing near the PA village of Nilin. Inspectors found 100 kg of fresh chicken meat in the trunk, without refrigeration or veterinary documentation. The suspect admitted that the poultry was from the Palestinian Authority and was intended to be sold to markets in Lod.

"The meat from both incidents was destroyed.

Florida legislature passes cultivated meat ban

March 6, 2024 - from the Alt-Meat:

"Representatives from the Sunshine State today voted 86-27 to approve the first total ban on the commercial manufacture and sale of cultivated meat in an American state.

"In the Wednesday afternoon vote, the House passed SB 1084, a wide-ranging bill that includes a prohibition on the alternative protein, though it will allow scientific research in the burgeoning field.

"Representatives opposing the bill said the ban protects a powerful industry from a non-existent threat.

"The legislation, which passed the Senate last week, will now head to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk. The Republican leader has been full-throated in his support of the legislation and is expected to sign the bill into law."

(Florida) Senate passes ban on sale of cultivated meat

February 29, 2024 - from the Florida Politics:

"The legislation still allows research into the field, but Republicans rejected a 5-year sunset on the ban.

"Senators voted to make Florida the first state to ban the sale of lab-grown meat. But a majority rejected a proposal to put a five-year sunset on that restriction.

"Republicans in the House and Senate did agree to allow scientific research in the burgeoning field. That should allow Florida programs already in place at NASA and multiple state universities to continue.

"Regardless, critics of the bill fear such a ban on commercial cultivation will have a chilling effect on a field still in its infancy.

"Biotech investors in sustainable foods have lobbied legislative leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis on the matter, saying a ban would have economic consequences and compromise food security.

"But traditional agriculture advocates have urged extreme caution. The Florida Cattlemen’s Association and other organizations representing Florida farmers say lab-grown meats should not be considered meat, and that far more research must be done before consumers should be allowed to eat it.

"Opponents of the bill also say the legislation would hurt research in allied countries like Israel, where the government has already approved cultivated beef products. Meanwhile, it would aid countries like China, which is making a concerted effort right now to expand its own efforts in the field."

Food fight: Cellular agriculture fears Florida’s proposed ban on cultivated meat

January 31, 2024 - from the Florida Politics:

"If Florida bans cultivated meat, it will be the first in the nation to do so. With food scarcity challenging modern agriculture, those behind the development of alternative protein sources fear this will set a dangerous precedent.

"That hasn’t stopped legislation from plowing forward in the House and Senate. Language completely banning the manufacturing, sale or distribution of cultivated meat now appears in larger agriculture bills in the House (HB 1071) and Senate (SB 1084).

"Leaders in the cultivated meat biotech sector, an industry still in its infancy, say the push to regulate lab-grown chicken, seafood and beef out of existence flies in the face of the conservative economic policies normally embraced by Florida lawmakers. More importantly, it could literally leave the nation starved for alternatives to slow-maturing livestock.

"But leaders within Florida agriculture, one of Florida’s largest industries, say government needs to put lab-grown meat under a statutory microscope.

"For his part. Rep. Danny Alvarez, the Hillsborough Republican running the agriculture package, in the House, said he sees a future for cultivated meat. At a committee hearing last week, he suggested it’s simply not ready for public consumption.

"He also said a sign-off from the FDA isn’t enough to give him confidence that assurance has arrived. From cigarettes to saccharin, Alvarez said, the federal agency has approved and even offered public assurance on the safety of products that later turned out to be carcinogenic.

"So far, Republican lawmakers in committee agreed. The House bill cleared its first committee last week on a 9-5 vote, and the mirror in the Senate advanced through a first stop on a 4-1 vote. Only Democrats to date have voted against the bill, though the cultivated meat ban was frequently cited as the reason.

"The agriculture bill as written would block the sale of Israeli lab-made meats in Florida, and it would prohibit any technology developed there to be employed in the Sunshine State.

"ndustry officials say in every state but Florida, the cultivated meat industry has worked in concert with farmers and traditional agriculture, believing the demands to feed a growing world population will grow as the ability to raise livestock on dwindling farmland diminishes."

January 31, 2024 from the The Shelby Report:

"A company that produces flour made from crickets has become the first in Italy to be given the green light to sell food made from insects for human consumption, defying Italian food purists and even a government attempt to curb its use.

"Since 2020, millions of crickets have been raised at the company’s plant in Montecassiano, a town in the central Marche region, where they are heat-treated before being frozen and ground into powder.

"Until now, the company has been permitted to sell the flour only for use in pet food.

"The EU approved the sale of insects – namely crickets, locusts and darkling beetle larvae – for human consumption in early 2023, sparking a flurry of proposed regulations from the Italian government, including one aimed at ensuring insects are kept away from traditional dishes such as pasta and pizza.

"However, by the time the regulations became official at the end of last year, the government had relented, instead imposing strict labelling rules, such as clearly stating the product’s origin and the requirement to use Acheta domesticus, the Latin for house cricket, on packets so as to make it a little less startling to the consumer.

"Nutrinsect’s cricket flour will be distributed to food supply companies and those across the catering chain. The flour can also be bought online for €6 a packet."

February 28, 2024 from the FDA:

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing that grease-proofing materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are no longer being sold for use in food packaging in the U.S. This means the major source of dietary exposure to PFAS from food packaging like fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, take-out paperboard containers and pet food bags is being eliminated.

PFAS are a diverse group of thousands of chemicals that resist grease, oil, water and heat. The FDA has authorized certain PFAS for limited use in cookware, food packaging and food processing equipment. Exposure to some types of PFAS have been linked to serious health effects. The FDA helps to safeguard the food supply by evaluating the use of chemicals as food ingredients and substances that come into contact with food, such as through food packaging, storage or other handling to ensure these uses are safe.

Today’s announcement marks the fulfillment of a voluntary commitment by manufacturers to not sell food contact substances containing certain PFAS intended for use as grease-proofing agents in the U.S. This FDA-led effort represents a positive step forward as we continue to reevaluate chemicals authorized for use with, and in, food. It underscores an important milestone in the protection of U.S. consumers from potentially harmful food-contact chemicals.