20 pages, Knowledge of agricultural practices has declined in recent years, resulting in consumers becoming uncertain of where and how their food has been produced and the marketing tactics used to promote the product. Historically, the U.S. population’s rich agricultural heritage coincided with higher levels of agricultural literacy. Some scholars, however, have maintained that U.S. culture has begun to lose touch with its agricultural foundations. More recent evidence has demonstrated that consumers acquire knowledge about their food from various media, most notably the Internet and social media. Often these sources use incorrect information and promote food and agricultural marketing trends that may not be grounded in scientific data. In response, this historical narrative analyzed a reform effort that occurred in U.S. food labeling policy and practice in the 1900s, which contributed to food labeling issues and consumer distrust in the agricultural industry. Based on the findings of this investigation, we concluded that food labels were initially intended to provide consumers with more profound knowledge of the food they purchased. However, key legislative acts such as the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act shifted the food labeling movement into a branding device to differentiate products and brands. We recommend that agricultural practitioners explore new ways to communicate their message more effectively. We also call for producers to incorporate more personal and emotional appeals when marketing agricultural products to better compete with third-party branding efforts.
Available online at www.centmapress.org, Results showed that the producers had seen a positive improvement in sales following acquisition of the regional food quality label, although they had not noticed greater interest in their products during campaigns to support awareness of the label.
Online via Drovers News Source. 3 pages., Announces a petition from the United States Cattlemen's Association to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service to address "Product of the U.S.A. and "Made in the U.S.A. claims on U.S beef. Includes a link to full petition (199 pages). The petition ends: "To eliminate the likelihood of confusion and to better inform consumers, USDA contends that voluntary labels indication 'Made in USA' and 'Product of USA' or similar content should be limited to beef from cattle born, raise, and harvested in the United States."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D11945
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From Agri-Pulse via online from AgriMarketing Weekly. 1 page., "Key voices from new and innovative meat technology industries are calling for mandatory labeling of cell-based meat and for more sector feedback before those labels are developed."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 207 Document Number: D13037
Notes:
6 pages, Kefirs are fermented beverages containing yeast and bacteria produced by the fermentation of water or milk with kefir grains. Because microorganism density may influence a product's health benefits, label accuracy regarding viable bacterial density and taxonomy of fermented foods is important. In this study, the microbiota of 5 commercial kefir products were measured quantitatively using standard plating techniques and characterized using high-resolution, long-read 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. To enumerate viable lactic acid bacteria, 2 lots of each product were plated on de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe agar upon opening and following 14 d and incubated under anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Results revealed that 66% of products with a guaranteed count of colony-forming units per gram overstated microorganism density by at least 1 log, with only product E exceeding 1 × 109 cfu/g. Sequencing results demonstrated moderate product label accuracy in regard to taxonomy, yet several products contained bacterial species above the minimum detectable threshold (0.001% relative abundance) that were not included on the labels (e.g., Streptococcus salivarius, Lactobacillus paracasei). Our results demonstrate a moderate level of labeling accuracy for commercial kefir products intended for human consumption. Regulatory agencies and consumers must continue to scrutinize these products and demand a higher level of accuracy and quality.
