Specialty Food Magazine

What are your biggest legislative and/or regulatory concerns as we head into 2021? Q: Miyoko Schinner, founder and CEO, Miyoko's Creamery Amidst the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 held a big victory for us regarding the nomenclature of our award-winning product, European Style Cultured Vegan Butter. In a U.S. District Court, a judge ruled that the State of California could not prevent us from using the term "butter." But the battle is not completely won. This was a preliminary injunction, meaning that while there are temporary restrictions on state actions against us, this injunction is not permanent. Our next step is to gain a permanent injunction, which would set a bold precedent for the rapidly growing plant- based industry. We hope to do this in 2021. We are not alone in this fight. This battle is being fought across the nation by plant-based brands who are being told by various states to refrain from terminology that is "owned" by animal products. While these battles are mostly on the state level, there is concern about bills that could be introduced at the federal level, which could override whatever states decide. In addition, while the FDA has been relatively quiet to date, they, too, could become more vocal or rule against this burgeoning new industry. But our challenge goes beyond the mere regulatory. It is to gain the acceptance of traditional producers who are feeling challenged or threatened by the growth of these brands. It is time to create a new food economy that takes into the equation the health and happiness of all stakeholders—which means the producers, customers, animals, and planet. Traditional producers can evolve and be part of the new future of food. Our challenge is to show them how. Thomas Gellert, president, Atalanta Corp. As I write this, many of the CARES Act programs are expiring, and the U.S. Senate is on Thanksgiving break. So, the key legislative initiative must be to get help to the American people and small businesses impacted by COVID-19. Naturally, our political leaders need to address the continued spread of the virus and the eventual distribution of vaccines, but at the same time we need to address the pain suffered by independent business owners. Part of this new stimulus needs to be focused on the foodservice industry and one bill that is out there is the RESTAURANTS Act which would provide aid to independent restaurants. Even before further dining restrictions took effect in November, some 40 percent of restaurants remained closed, and operators had laid off about 90 percent of hourly and 70 percent of salaried workers. During the coming winter, even more pain is expected. Restaurant closings have a downstream effect on foodservice distributors, farmers, fishermen, and food purveyors everywhere. Besides COVID-19 relief, I have been vocal about free and fair-trade policies. The outgoing Administration's policy of punitive tariffs hurt U.S. business and the costs were absorbed by American consumers. Food import taxes are arbitrary and unnecessary burdens on our economy and there are better tools for this country to achieve trade goals than to punish U.S. companies and consumers. Jeff Koeze, managing director, Koeze Company As we head into 2021, my top regulatory concern is California's Proposition 65, the California law requiring products to carry warning labels about cancer and reproductive harm risks from a list of hundreds of chemical substances. The number of alleged Prop 65 violations in food is exploding, especially for acrylamide, which is formed naturally whenever a food is browned or caramelized in what is called a Maillard reaction. There have been major lawsuits resolved on chocolate products and coffee, but litigation and regulatory activity continues on a wide variety of other baked or roasted foods. Of additional concern for folks in the organic supply chain are proposed changes to USDA organic certification. While these regulations have the laudable goal of reducing the production of fraudulent organic products, the scope and complexity of these rules threatens to limit both the introduction of new products and the distribution of lower volume organic products. While we all support safe, authentic foods, my fear is that ever-increasing regulatory burdens threaten small producers and the continuous innovation that they bring to the specialty food marketplace. Add this to the ongoing tariff issues, and the entire specialty food ecosystem, from producer to consumer, is facing difficult headwinds in the coming year. Julie Gallagher is managing editor of Specialty Food. WINTER ‹

• Cover
• COV4