Business Bites: Mondelēz investment in ‘lab-grown’ chocolate points to a more sustainable future for cocoa

Mondelēz International is investing in more sustainable cocoa technology, which can reportedly produce tons of cocoa butter from a few scant beans. Whether this means they can produce chocolate without lead remains to be seen.

In other news, Dr. Marty Makary has been nominated to lead FDA under Trump, but his corporate ties have some questioning his viability as a candidate. Also, Campbell’s CEO Mark Clouse is leaving the company on Jan. 31, 2025, to join the NFL’s Washington Commanders as president, which has the ring of a “dream opportunity” to me. Or perhaps he’s looking for a less stressful job, since I don’t think people are talking about cheesecake these days when they say, “eat the rich.”

All that and more in this week’s Business Bites.

Mondelēz invests in cocoa-tech company

With demand high but prices rising, consumers are looking for alternatives to chocolate, but companies like Mondelēz International are exploring innovative sourcing solutions instead.

SnackFutures Ventures, the food giant’s venture capital arm, just joined a $4.5 million funding round for Celleste Bio, an Israeli startup developing “lab-grown” cocoa using AI and agtech. Celleste claims its technology can produce one ton of cocoa butter from a single pod, which is remarkable given the labor, deforestation and price volatility challenges affecting traditional cocoa farming. Time will tell if this tech faces the same struggles as cultivated meat.

Related:Food brands must innovate without compromising on consistency, experts say

Marty Makary nominated as new FDA commissioner

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a new FDA commissioner: Dr. Marty Makary, whose medical degrees mark him as something of a wildcard compared to Trump’s other recent selections. He also wrote a book titled “Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health,” in which he critiques medical groupthink and advocates for lifestyle interventions over medications.

“Can diabetes be more effectively treated with a cooking class instead of prescribing insulin?” he wrote. “Can we lower high blood pressure by improving sleep quality and reducing stress instead of throwing antihypertensive medications at people? Can we discuss school lunch programs, not just bariatric surgery and Ozempic?”

Although Makary raises valid concerns about outdated practices and weak evidence in medical guidelines, his status as a director on the board of a pharmaceutical company and adviser to an insurance company have also sparked concerns about his suitability to lead FDA.

Campbell's CEO to retire, become football president

Related:How collaborative recall plans safeguard every step of the supply chain

Mark Clouse has led Campbell’s since 2019, and during that time he transformed the company’s portfolio, emphasized growth in its soup division and drove the $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands during a challenging time for CPG brands. Now, he’s leaving to run a football team. Maybe he can do something about those hotdog prices.

Mick Beekhuizen, currently Campbell’s president of meals and beverages, will succeed Clouse on Feb. 1 to become the company’s 15th leader in its 155-year history. Beekhuizen has been praised for his strategic leadership, and he’ll need those skills, seeing as he’ll be navigating a market fraught with rising inflation and rapidly shifting consumer preferences.

FDA issues update to national voluntary food safety standards

The Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards, updated for 2024, is FDA’s way of trying to enhance retail food safety by providing a framework for state, local, tribal and territorial food regulatory programs. These standards aim to promote uniformity and control foodborne illness risk factors, and they’ve been in place since the 1990s, so they must be doing some good; despite foodborne illness seeming more common than ever, the data suggest a downward trend.

Related:Unwrapping sustainability: Mastering eco-friendly packaging – video

The latest update to these voluntary standards integrates changes from the 2023 Conference for Food Protection, including updated audit procedures and terminology. Why FDA did this now, based on guidance from last year and right before a major change in administration, remains unclear.

Salmon welfare still lacking, says Salmon Welfare Scorecard

The second Salmon Welfare Scorecard released by Compassion in World Farming highlights improvements in salmon producers’ welfare policies, with 62% showing progress compared to last year. Key areas of advancement include predator management, humane slaughter and health planning.

“Fish are sentient animals capable of feeling pain, stress and fear, as well as experiencing positive emotions, social bonds, and advanced intelligence,” last year’s scorecard claimed. “They are sensitive creatures and like many other animals, they explore, socialize, hunt and play.”

The report also highlighted gaps in transparency, especially concerning stocking density, transportation and “sea lice management,” a phrase that makes me seriously regret learning how to read. The organization called for clearer communication and proactive policy adoption to address welfare challenges, strengthen stakeholder trust and promote humane and sustainable practices across the industry.