FDA/FTC Says to Cool it With the Delta-8 Puns; Dip Company Struggles with Food Safety Issues
Bloom Goes RTD; Perfect Bar Rethinks Layers Line; IS it a Salad?!?
Hi there all! How are we handling the weather this week? I’m an avid gardener and while my twenty-plus hot pepper plants do love heat, even they seem a little bedraggled.
Quick housekeeping note: As I’m constantly evolving this newsletter, I’m playing around with the send dates and times. Have to keep you on your toes! In the meantime, keep that feedback coming. Someone emailed me that this newsletter was “So very Carol Ortenberg.” That’s a good thing….Right?
The Federal Government Doesn’t Appreciate Your Delta-8 Puns
Despite being relatively quiet about Delta-8, the government is still keeping a watchful eye on producers utilizing the cannabinoid. This week the FDA and FTC sent warning letters to five companies “for illegally selling copycat food products containing delta-8 THC,” with brands targeted including Trips Ahoy! and Double Stuff Stoneos.
The concern is that these products mimic grocery store snacks too closely, posing a risk to unsuspecting Americans, especially children.
According to the FDA, from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2023, the agency received over 300 adverse event reports involving the consumption of delta-8 THC products. About half resulted in hospitalization or emergency department visits, with two-thirds involving food products like candy or brownies.
“The companies who sell these illegal products are demonstrating complete neglect for consumer safety,” FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Namandjé Bumpus said in a statement.
The FDA has repeatedly warned D8 companies to stop using punny product names.
In May 2022, the agency sent warning letters to companies crafting products with CBD and/or Delta-8, stating that these ingredients could not be marketed as treating medical conditions and were not approved as food additives.
Last July, the FDA and FTC teamed up, sending warning letters to six brands producing “copycat food products” containing Delta-8.
And this issue goes beyond just a few notices.
Right now, hemp-derived cannabinoids are in a bit of a grey zone. Since they are derived from hemp, they do not need to be regulated like traditional cannabis products. However, you also can’t just put things in food willy-nilly as food additives.
Without federal regulations, states are taking varied approaches with D8 products.
In 2022, Louisiana approved the manufacturing and sale of hemp-derived products after the then House Speaker (incorrectly) said they couldn’t get consumers high. After being proven wrong, last month the House and Senate considered banning all hemp-derived THC products, but ultimately settled on a bill that bans gas stations, new restaurants/bars from selling the products, reduces portion sizes, adds a 21+ age requirement, and prohibits the sale of flower hemp products.
The FDA Remains Skeptical Over Dip Producer’s Food Safety Skills
Since y’all seem to love a good food safety story, I mean who DOESN’T …There’s another listeria issue, this time at dip producer Discover Fresh Foods (DFF), which makes dips under the Hidden Valley Ranch and Texas Pete brands.
According to a letter from the FDA, inspections of the company’s South Carolina plant in December 2023 and January 2024 found “serious” food safety violations and the presence of Listeria. In short, it’s not great.
According to the FDA, the company’s dips “were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health.” The packaged dips also don’t undergo a kill step, allowing pathogens to flourish.
To date, no illnesses have been linked to the dips, and the three samples taken over the two-month period that came back as positive for listeria were from non-food contact surfaces.
Yes, but…. the plant has struggled with food safety issues for years with repeated inspections and even a product sample turning up the same Listeria strain. Because of this, the FDA wrote, it’s clear that there has “been a resident pathogen in your facility since at least November 2017.”
While DFF said it took corrective actions over the last eight months, including “decommissioning” a chopper suspected to be the source of the pathogen, adding new food safety procedures, filling in drains, and upping testing, it seems the problem hasn’t gone away. Subsequent testing this year found listeria, including a new strain, in the plant as well as in finished packaged (though not distributed) products.
Turns out, DFF didn’t exactly decommission that equipment; instead, the company repaired and cleaned it before returning it to the plant floor. Oops. The company told the FDA it has now “permanently removed” the chopper.
Inspectors also observed an employee unclog a floor drain 12 inches from the fill line, with the water from the clog splashing onto food-contact surfaces.
While the FDA is just warning the company at this point, given the letter’s wording, it seems the agency doesn’t have high hopes.
“Given the repeated detection of the same strain of L. monocytogenes over several years and the inspectional findings, we continue to be concerned about your ability to maintain a sanitary environment, implement an effective sanitation program, and take adequate corrective actions.”
News Bites:
Bloom Nutrition is expanding from powders into RTDs, launching Bloom Sparkling Energy in Target stores nationwide. “Sigh, another energy drink,” you might be saying, but the launch has a lot of muscle behind it. Earlier this year, C4 producer Nutrabolt took a 20% stake in the company as part of a larger $90M raise by the supplement brand. Now we’ll see the true potential of the partnership, with the new RTD offering Bloom expansion into a category with faster turns and Nutrabolt an additional way to target more wellness focused or female shoppers.
Citing consumer confusion, Perfect Bar is renaming its “Perfect Bar Layers” line as “Perfect Bar Crisps” and adding new illustrative flavor callouts on the front of the pack. I love this product with any name, but I am curious about the new moniker. The chocolate SKU has always given me Kit Kat vibes, so I wonder if a more candy-oriented positioning was considered. Given the brand already sells chocolate cups, a second dessert option could have offered the company a larger block in the chilled dessert set. Still, despite apparent industry and retail interest in that set, brands selling chilled desserts/candy appear to have struggled to find the right location for their products in stores.
A year after acquiring infant formula manufacturing company Nature’s One and its 9,000-square-foot Ohio-based facility, formula company Bobbie has the plant up and running. Bobbie purchased the facility in 2022 after a national formula shortage revealed the supply chain’s fragility. The new capacity will allow Bobbie to have redundancies in its supply chain lest future issues arise—and, I assume, service a growing customer base.
Distribution Wins: Vegan fast casual restaurant Slutty Vegan is adding two items made with Chunk Foods’ alt-meat offerings. The plant-based brand is seeking to differentiate itself with its “whole cuts,” and select Slutty Vegan locations will offer a 4 oz. steak entrée; The Good Crisp is headed across the pond to the UK where it will launch in “just a few weeks; Sprouts picked up three new SKUs of Soley’s Fruit Jerky (Mango Guava, Mango Blueberry and Mango Passionfruit; Pitaya Foods 3lb frozen tropical fruit mix is now sold in Sam’s Clubs; Emerging frozen food brand La Rossi Pizza is rolling out in select Northeast Whole Foods Market stores.
Hot on the heels of a brand refresh that included new packaging and product sizes, Lexington Bakes has brewed up a relationship with Equator Coffee. The gourmet baked goods brand will be sold in the coffee company’s Bay Area shops and Equator is now the exclusive coffee ingredient supplier for LXB.
Call it upcycling. Anyone wanna to buy a trade show booth?
New Hires of Note: Red Clay Gourmet brought on sales exec Kristine Hardcastle as an EVP (please please, can we finally get Red Clay’s pimento cheese up North); Jamie Forrest, formerly a leader on Whole Foods’ Global Corporate Communications team, will now serve as the retailer’s Senior Team Leader of Special Projects & Employee Communications; 4th and Heart’s Christina Garcia has been promoted from Quality Assurance Manager to Director of Operations.
(I’m adding appliance coverage. Why? Because I want to. But also because products like the Ninja Creami, Instapot, and Air Fryer have shown the impact appliances can have on food innovation and marketing). Channing Street Copper Company is accepting preorders for its Charlie stoves. Keep an eye on Copper, with Charlie the “first energy storage-equipped induction electric range.” Induction stoves are growing in popularity, and the appliance’s battery power allows consumers to cook 3-5 meals, even if the power is out. As someone who grew up in a state plagued with hurricanes, this would have been nice to have instead of my dad’s old camping stove. Not only does the battery mean customers can use a standard wall outlet (versus needing costly kitchen rewiring), but it also allows the stove to draw not power when the electrical grid is already overtaxed, like at dinner time.
If someone really wants a TJ’s tote this badly, give me a shout. Perhaps MA just doesn’t get as jazzed about these things, but the last time I went to my local store there were boxes of them available.
Little Leaf’s “Is it a Salad” marketing campaign had me LOLing. Despite being a Southerner, Ambrosia Salad always confused me. Tell me marshmallows, cottage cheese, maraschino cherries, and canned mandarin oranges don’t just scream health.
Add to Cart, New Items on Shelves:
“Herbal Remedies” brand Motherlove is answering consumer demand with their latest launch: a line of castile foaming and bar soap. These versatile products can be used for everything from hand and body washing to hair care, pet grooming, and cleaning up spills.
Ore-Ida and GoodPop teamed up to create the Fudge n’ Vanilla French Fry Pop. If you're a fan of dipping fries in a Wendy’s Frosty, this one's for you. ::Raises Hand::
Masa company Masienda launched two heirloom corn-based tortillas at Whole Foods nationwide. Over on LinkedIn, founder and CEO Jorge Gaviria detailed what that journey entailed. In recent years the tortilla line took a back burner while Masienda focused on gaining brick and mortar distribution for its ground masa.
Patagonia Provisions is adding canned sardines to its lineup. While I’m a fan of the tiny fish myself, I recognize not every shopper knows what to do with a sardine. I’m curious if Patagonia’s choice to launch a Coconut Curry Sardine makes the product more or less approachable.
Our Home, previously Real Food From the Ground Up, introduced new Sea Salt Pita, Cornbread, and Multigrain Pita crackers under its Food Should Taste Good brand. (What do we think is the difference between a Pita Chip and a Pita Cracker?) Coincidentally, Pretzelized, the new brand from RFFTGU co-founder and former owner Jason Cohen’s, just launched its pretzel crackers nationwide in Whole Foods Markets.
Be still my carb loving heart. Daily Harvest is launching two new SKUs: Sesame Fried Rice and Edamame multi-serve side and Butternut Squash + Cauliflower Mac n' Cheeze.
Weekend Reads:
Given we’re coming off of Prime Day, you’ve probably heard a lot about Amazon this week. But Bloomberg’s recent article highlights how a single negative review can impact a new company. LDR, someone was sent a used diaper and despite the mixup likely being Amazon’s fault, the company has been unable to get the negative review taken down. (Also, only Last Crumb could charge 10% MORE on Prime Day…)
Not everyone loves Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Seasoning. Find out while the cult product is banned in South Korea.