Business Bites: US agencies push to clarify ‘Best By’ and ‘Sell By’ dates on food

I can see you now, standing in the supermarket aisle, struggling to decipher the cryptic “Best By” and “Use By” dates on a label — if only the sniff test worked on unopened cans of SpaghettiOs. Good thing FDA and USDA are on the case, requesting input from industry about how best to use dates on labels. I’m sure they’ll come up with a comprehensive solution just in time for Y3K.

Meanwhile, plant-based proteins are flexing new research that shows they aren’t just good for the planet — they’re great for your health, too. And Oobli has found the innovation sweet spot with monellin, a precision-fermented protein that’s 2,000 times sweeter than sugar and only 4 calories per gram.

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

US agencies seek input on food labeling

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and FDA are looking for public input on food date labeling to address confusion about terms like “Use By,” “Best if Used By” and “Sell By,” which lack clear definitions and may lead to unnecessary food waste. As opposed to necessary food waste, which occurs when I eat to quiet the echoing sadness in my soul.

Currently, a lack of national standards has led to labeling practices that vary across states and companies, so the agencies are collecting information on industry practices and the impact of labels on consumer perceptions of safety. The data they receive will no doubt inform future regulatory action aimed at enhancing clarity and reducing food waste.

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Public comments will be accepted until Feb. 3, 2025.

Study finds alternative proteins offer clear health benefits

A comprehensive new study on meat and dairy alternatives has highlighted their potential to transform diets for the better from not only an environmental perspective but also a nutritional one. Unprocessed plant-based protein sources like beans, peas and soybeans are the clear winners, offering the most significant benefits across all criteria, while the losers, of course, are anyone with taste buds. (I jest; today’s market hosts tons of amazing plant-based alternatives, and they’re only getting better.) The study also pointed out that processed options like veggie burgers and plant-based milk provide notable advantages over animal-based counterparts, though with higher costs and fewer environmental benefits than whole-food alternatives.

Oobli earns GRAS status for novel precision-fermented monellin

Sweet protein maker Oobli has received a no-questions letter from FDA, granting GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for its novel sweet protein, monellin. Derived from the serendipity berry, this ingredient typically tastes like licorice and breaks down at high heat, but Oobli’s precision fermentation process reportedly eliminates these drawbacks, enabling its use in products like baked goods and beverages. The company claims monellin can replace over 70% of sugar in most foods and drinks, offering a cost-effective, noncarbohydrate alternative to sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, which face growing health concerns.

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2022 report on foodborne illness released

“Each year in the United States, an estimated 9 million people get sick, 56,000 are hospitalized and 1,300 die of a foodborne disease caused by known pathogens,” the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC), a team with members from CDC, FDA and USDA, stated in its latest report, which outlines the sources of U.S. foodborne illnesses caused by salmonella, E. coli and listeria in 2022. They know it’s nearly 2025, right? Are the government's clocks blinking?

The report highlights that these pathogens are responsible for nearly 2 million foodborne illness cases annually, and the report’s updated source attribution estimates should help guide regulatory priorities, shape intervention strategies and measure the effectiveness of prevention efforts.

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New fungi collaboration could boost sustainable agriculture

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has partnered with Enhanced Nature and Symbiotic Sciences to advance the production of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), one of the few abbreviations that I support, because I’m too scared to Google “arbuscular.”

Apparently, AMF is a type of symbiotic fungi that supports sustainable agriculture by enhancing nutrient uptake, water access and carbon sequestration in plants. As such, this collaborative effort aims to scale in-vitro growth of AMF, enabling its use beyond specialty crops to larger row crops like corn and soy, which could improve yields, soil health and resilience to climate stressors like drought. While AMF’s agricultural potential has been recognized for years, production inefficiencies limited its adoption, but recent research breakthroughs are expected to overcome these challenges and meet growing global demand for sustainable agricultural solutions.