NEW YORK — Target will stop selling its entire assortment of cereal with certified synthetic colors by the end of May.
The move, announced Friday, underscores the acknowledgment that American consumers and the U.S. government under President Donald Trump are paying attention to what goes into packaged foods.
The Minneapolis-based discounter said it had been phasing out synthetic colors in cereals for several years, and currently nearly 85% of its cereal sales already come from products made without certified synthetic dyes. Some of the artificial food dyes detailed by Target are being reviewed by U.S. Food and Drug Administration like Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and 6 and Blue No. 1.
Target said that it has worked with national brands and its private brands to reformulate products as needed. Some cereals will have updated formulations, and many others already meet its new cereal assortment standard for no certified synthetic colors, the retailer said.
“We know consumers are increasingly prioritizing healthier lifestyles, and we’re moving quickly to evolve our offerings to meet their needs,” said Cara Sylvester, Target’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, in a statement.
Target said that reformulating its cereal line builds on the foundation Target established in 2019 with the launch of its store label food brand Good & Gather, which is made without artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors or high fructose corn syrup. The brand has more than 2,500 products across dairy, produce, ready made pastas meat as well as baby and toddler food.
In recent months, major food companies such as Kraft Heinz, Nestle and Conagra Brands have pledged to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in coming years.
General Mills also announced last year that it plans to remove artificial dyes from all of its U.S. cereals and all foods served in K-12 schools by the summer of 2026. It is also looking to eliminate the dyes from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027.
Last October,Walmart said it plans to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027.
Minute Maid helped make orange juice a year-round morning staple in 1946, when it started shipping cans of frozen juice around the U.S. But 80 years later, the brand’s parent company is halting sales of frozen juice concentrates in the U.S. and Canada,…
Minute Maid helped make orange juice a year-round morning staple in 1946, when it started shipping cans of frozen juice around the U.S.
But 80 years later, the brand’s parent company is halting sales of frozen juice concentrates in the U.S. and Canada, saying it wants to focus on the fresh juices that customers now prefer.
“We are discontinuing our frozen products and exiting the frozen can category in response to shifting consumer preferences,” The Coca-Cola Co., which owns Minute Maid, said Wednesday in a statement.
Minute Maid’s frozen juices – including several varieties of orange juice, lemonade and limeade – will be discontinued by April, with inventory available while supplies last, Coca-Cola said.
For generations, Americans who wanted orange juice without the work of squeezing fresh fruit cracked open a can and watched a cylinder of frozen juice go ker-plunk into a pitcher. The concentrated juice was mixed with water to make it ready for drinking.
In 1946, Vacuum Foods Corp. became the first U.S. company to ship frozen orange juice across the country, according to Coca-Cola. It named the product Minute Maid; Vacuum Foods eventually changed its name to Minute Maid as well. Rival Tropicana, which still sells frozen canned juice, was founded in 1947.
Coca-Cola acquired Minute Maid in 1960, and 13 years later, Minute Maid introduced ready-to-drink orange juice, which was sold in the refrigerated case instead of the freezer and let consumers skip the step of mixing it up. Minute Maid added lemonade and fruit punch to its lineup in 1980.
In recent years, orange juice has struggled as other options, like energy drinks and protein smoothies, have flooded the market. Skyrocketing prices due to poor weather conditions in Brazil and Florida haven’t helped; a 12-ounce can of frozen orange juice cost an average of $4.82 in December, up 13% from the prior year, according to U.S. government data.
Consumers also increasingly questioned the added sugar in juices. Minute Maid launched Zero Sugar versions of its fresh juices in 2020. But its frozen juices have languished along with the broader frozen juice category.
U.S. sales of frozen beverages fell nearly 8% in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 24, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ.
At least 45 people in nearly two dozen states have been sickened with salmonella food poisoning tied to a brand of “super greens” diet supplement powder, federal health officials said Wednesday.
Superfoods Inc., which makes Live it Up-brand Super Greens powder, recalled products including its original and wild berry flavors with expiration dates of August 2026 to January 2028. Consumers should not eat, sell or serve the products and should throw them away or return to the place of purchase.
lllnesses tied to the supplement were reported from Aug. 22 to Dec. 30, 2025. At least 12 people were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The products were distributed nationwide. Case have been reported in 21 states: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
An FDA investigation is continuing and additional products could be contaminated, the agency said.
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start within hours or days of eating a contaminated food product. They include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Most people recover without treatment within a week, but infections can be serious in children younger than 5, adults 65 and older and people with weakened immune systems.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years.
But that boom looks set to come to a crashing halt. Buried in the bill that ended the federal government shutdown this month was a provision to ban those drinks, along with other impairing beverages and snacks made from hemp, which have proliferated across the country in recent years. Now the $24 billion hemp industry is scrambling to save itself before the provision takes effect in November 2026.
“It’s a big deal,” said Ryan Bandy, Indeed’s chief business officer. “It would be a mess for our breweries, for our industry, and obviously for a lot of people who like these things.”
Ryan Bandy, chief business officer at Indeed Brewing in Minneapolis, stands near a pallet of six-packs of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
Ryan Bandy, chief business officer at Indeed Brewing in Minneapolis, stands near a pallet of six-packs of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
Here’s what to know about the looming ban on impairing products derived from hemp.
Congress opened the door in 2018
Marijuana and hemp are the same species. Marijuana is cultivated for high levels of THC in its flowers. Low-THC hemp is grown for its sturdy fibers, food or wellness products. “Rope, not dope” was long the motto of farmers who supported legalizing hemp.
After states began legalizing marijuana for adult use over a decade ago, hemp advocates saw an opening at the federal level. As part of the 2018 farm bill, Congress legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp to give farmers, including in Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, a new cash crop.
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But the way that law defined hemp — as having less than 0.3% of a specific type of THC, called delta-9 — opened a huge loophole. Beverages or bags of snacks could meet that threshold and still contain more than enough THC to get people high. Businesses could further exploit the law by extracting a non-impairing compound, called CBD, and chemically changing it into other types of impairing THC, such as delta-8 or delta-10.
The result? Vape oil, gummy candies, chips, cookies, sodas and other unregulated, untested products laden with hemp-derived THC spread around the country. In many places, they have been available at gas stations or convenience stores, even to teens. In legal marijuana states, they undercut heavily taxed and regulated products. In others, they evaded the prohibition on recreational use of weed.
Some states, including Indiana, have reported spikes in calls to poison-control centers for pediatric exposure to THC.
Cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, are shown in a cooler at the Indeed Brewery taproom in Minneapolis on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
Cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, are shown in a cooler at the Indeed Brewery taproom in Minneapolis on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
A patchwork of state regulations
Dozens of states have since taken steps to regulate or ban impairing hemp products. In October, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products outside the state’s legal marijuana system.
Texas, which has a massive hemp market, is moving to regulate sales of impairing hemp, such as by restricting them to those over 21. In Nebraska, lawmakers have instead considered a bill to criminalize the sale and possession of products containing hemp-based THC.
Washington state adopted a program to regulate hemp growing. But the number of licensed growers has cratered since the state banned intoxicating hemp products outside of the regulated cannabis market in 2023. Five years ago, there were 220, said Trecia Ehrlich, cannabis program manager with the state agriculture department. This year, there were 42, and with a federal ban looming, she expects that number to drop by about half next year.
Minnesota made infused beverages and foods legal in 2022 for people 21 and older. The products, which must be derived from legally certified hemp, have become so popular that Target is now offering THC drinks at some of its stores in the state.
They’ve also been a boon to liquor stores and to small Minneapolis brewers like Indeed, where THC drinks make up close to one-quarter of the business, Bandy said. At Bauhaus Brew Labs, a few blocks away, THC drinks account for 26% of their revenues from distributed products and 11% of revenues at the brewery’s taproom.
A powerful senator moves to close the loophole
None of that was what McConnell intended when he helped craft the 2018 farm bill. He finally closed the loophole by inserting a federal hemp THC ban in the measure to end the 43-day federal government shutdown, approved by the Senate on Nov. 10.
“It will keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children, while preserving the hemp industry for farmers,” McConnell said. “Industrial hemp and CBD will remain legal for industrial applications.”
Some in the legal marijuana industry celebrated, as the ban would end what they consider unfair competition.
They were joined by prohibitionists. “There’s really no good argument for allowing these dangerous products to be sold in our country,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
But the ban doesn’t take effect for a year. That has given the industry hope that there is still time to pass regulations that will improve the hemp THC industry — such as by banning synthetically derived THC, requiring age restrictions on sales, and prohibiting marketing to children — rather than eradicate it.
“We are very hopeful that cooler heads will prevail,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “If they really thought there was a health emergency, there would be no year-long period.”
The federal ban would jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax money, the group says.
Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer at Bauhaus Brew Labs, has no doubt his company would be among the casualties.
“If this goes through as written currently, I don’t see a way at all that Bauhaus could stay in business,” Hurst said.
Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer of Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis, stands outside a cooler for cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery’s taproom on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer of Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis, stands outside a cooler for cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery’s taproom on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
What comes next?
A number of lawmakers say they will push for regulation of the hemp THC industry. Kentucky’s second senator, Republican Rand Paul, introduced an amendment to strip McConnell’s hemp language from the crucial government-funding bill, but it failed on a lopsided 76-24 vote.
Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, are among those strategizing to save the industry. Klobuchar noted at a recent news conference that the ban was inserted into the unrelated shutdown bill without a hearing. She suggested the federal government could allow states to develop their own regulatory frameworks, or that Minnesota’s strict regulations could be used as a national model.
Kevin Hilliard, co-founder of Insight Brewing in Minneapolis, said the hemp industry needs a solution before planting time next spring.
“If a farmer has uncertainty, they’re not going to plant,” Hilliard said.
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Johnson reported from Seattle. AP congressional reporter Kevin Freking contributed from Washington, D.C.
As cases of potentially deadly botulism in babies who drank ByHeart infant formula continue to grow, state officials say they are still finding the recalled product on some store shelves.
Meanwhile the company reported late Wednesday that laboratory tests confirmed that some samples of formula were contaminated with the type of bacteria that has sickened more than 30 babies in the outbreak.
Tests by an independent food safety laboratory found Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that produces toxins that can lead to potentially life threatening illness in babies younger than 1, the company said on its website. ByHeart officials said they notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the findings but did not specify how many samples were tested or how many were positive.
“We are working to investigate the facts, conduct ongoing testing to identify the source, and ensure this does not happen to families again,” ByHeart said on its website.
The FDA did not immediately respond to questions about the findings.
The lab results come as investigators in at least three states found ByHeart formula still for sale even after the New York-based company recalled all products nationwide, officials told The Associated Press.
At least 31 babies in 15 states who drank ByHeart formula have been hospitalized and treated for infantile botulism since August, federal health officials said Wednesday. They range in age from about 2 weeks to about 6 months, with the most recent case reported on Nov. 13.
No deaths have been reported.
In Oregon, nine of more than 150 stores checked still had the formula on shelves this week, a state agriculture official said. In Minnesota, investigators conducted 119 checks between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 and removed recalled products from sale at four sites, an agriculture department official said. An Arizona health official also said they found the product available.
Businesses and consumers should remain alert, Minnesota officials said in a statement. “No affected product should be sold or consumed,” they wrote.
Investigators with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted inspections at ByHeart manufacturing plants in Allerton, Iowa, and Portland, Oregon. No results from the inspections have been reported.
California officials previously confirmed the germ that can lead to illness in an open can of ByHeart formula fed to a baby who fell ill.
Infant botulism, which can cause paralysis and death, is caused by a type of bacteria that forms spores that germinate in a baby’s gut and produce a toxin.
Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop and include constipation, poor feeding, a weak cry, drooping eyelids or a flat facial expression. Babies can develop weakness in their limbs and head and may feel “floppy.” They can have trouble swallowing or breathing.
ByHeart had been manufacturing about 200,000 cans of formula per month. It was sold online or at retail stores such as Target and Walmart. A Walmart spokesperson said the company swiftly issued a restriction that prevented sale of the formula, removed the product from stores and notified consumers who had bought it. Customers can visit any store for a refund of the formula, which sold for about $42 per can.
Federal and state health officials are concerned that some parents and caregivers may still have ByHeart products in their homes. They are advising consumers to stop using the product — including formula in cans and any single-serve sticks. They also suggest marking it “DO NOT USE” and keeping it for at least a month in case a baby develops symptoms. In that case, the formula would need to be tested.
The California health department operates the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program, which tracks cases and distributes treatment for the disease. Officials there have launched a public hotline at 833-398-2022, which is staffed with health officials from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
The new hotline was created after calls from hundreds of parents and caregivers flooded a different, longstanding hotline for doctors to discuss suspected infant botulism cases, officials said.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Imagine, if you will, a world without mobile phones, the internet or The New York Times (digital OR print). Would your favorite puzzler survive? The good folks at the Times have something perfect to put in the bunker: “Puzzle Mania!” It’s a stylish hardcover book full of Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and more. By a lead Times puzzle editor, Joel Fagliano. Authors Equity. $38.
Contemporary art
Painting, collage, photography, sculpture, performance. Derrick Adams has embraced them all in a career spanning more than 25 years. His first monograph, “Derrick Adams,” includes 150 works that explore Black American culture and his own identity. Portraiture abounds. There’s joy, leisure and resilience in everyday experiences and self-reflection, with a little humor on board. Monacelli. $79.95.
Steph Curry inspiration
“Being shot ready requires practice, training and repetition, but it rewards that work with an unmatched feeling of transcendence.” That’s Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry in his new book, “Shot Ready.” The basketball star takes his readers from rookie to veteran, accompanied by inspiring words and photos. One doesn’t have to be into basketball to feel the greatness. One World. $50.
The American West
The photographer Frank S. Matsura died in 1913, but his work lives on in a hefty archive. He was a Japanese immigrant who chronicled life in Alaska and the Okanogan region of Washington state. He operated a photo studio frequented by the Indigenous people of the region. Many of those portraits are included in “Frank S. Matsura: Iconoclast Photographer of the American West.” Edited by Michael Holloman. Princeton Architectural Press. $40.
The gift of bird chatter
Cheeseburger, cheeseburger! The handy little book “Bird Talk” seeks to make identifying bird calls fun and accessible without heavy phonetic descriptors or birder lingo. Becca Rowland, who wrote and illustrated, offers funny, bite-size ways to identify calls using what’s already in our brains. Hence, the black-capped chickadee goes “cheeseburger, cheeseburger!” Storey Publishing. $16.99.
Mocktails and cocktails
David Burtka is sober. His husband, Neil Patrick Harris, imbibes. Together, they love to throw parties. This elfin book, “Both Sides of the Glass,” includes easy-to-follow cocktail and mocktail recipes, with commentary from Harris, who took mixology lessons out of sheer love of a good drink. Written with Zoë Chapin. Plume. $35.
It’s a book. It’s a burger.
This tome with a cover design that evokes a Big Mac is a country-by-country work of journalism that earned two 2025 James Beard awards for Gary He, a writer and photographer who previously freelanced for The Associated Press and self-published the book. He toured the world visiting McDonald’s restaurants to do his research for “McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches.” As social anthropology goes, it serves. $49.95.
Yosemite love
From the cute but ferocious river otter to the gliders of the night, the Humboldt’s flying squirrel, this striking book is the first comprehensive work in more than a century dedicated entirely to the park’s animal kingdom. “Yosemite Wildlife: The Wonder of Animal Life in California’s Sierra Nevada” includes more than 300 photos and covers 150-plus species. By Beth Pratt, with photos by Robb Hirsch. Yosemite Conservancy. $60.
Samin Nosrat’s new book
Samin Nosrat lays herself bare in this long-awaited second book from the chef and author of the acclaimed “Salt Fat Acid Heat.” Her first book was 17 years in the making. In its wake, she explains in “Good Things,” was struggle, including overwhelming loss with the deaths of several people close to her and a bout of depression that nearly swallowed her whole. Here, she rediscovers why she, or anybody, cooks in the first place. The recipes are simple, her observations helpful. You can taste the joy in every bite. Penguin Random House. $45.
Chappell Roan
She struggled in the music game for years, until 2024 made her a star. Chappell Roan, with her drag-queen style, big vocals and queer pride, has a shiny Grammy for best new artist. Now, in time for the holidays, there’s a sweet little book that tells her origin story. “Chappell Roan: The Rise of a Midwest Princess.” With text contributions from Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, Dibs Baer, Patrick Crowley, Izzy Grinspan, J’na Jefferson, Ilana Kaplan and Samantha Olson. Hearst Home. $30.
Snoop’s homemade edibles
For edible-loving weed enthusiasts, “Snoop Dogg’s Treats to Eat” offers 55 recipes that can be done with or without the weed. The connoisseur includes tips on how to use your goods for everything from tinctures to gummies, cookies to cannabutter. Perhaps a loaded milkshake or buttermilk pancakes with stoner syrup. Chronicle Books. $27.95.
A style muse
With her effortless beauty, and tousled hair and fringe, Jane Birkin easily transitioned from her swinging London roots in the early 1960s to a cultural and style muse for decades. She lent a bohemian charm to everything she did, from acting to singing to liberal activism. And she famously was the muse for the Hermès Birkin bag. The new “Jane Birkin: Icon of Style,” encompasses all of Birkin. By Sophie Gachet. Abrams Books. $65.
More Taylor Swift
All those Easter eggs. All those songs. It’s Taylor Swift’s world and we’re just eyes and ears taking it all in. Swift has been everywhere of late with her engagement to Travis Kelce, her Eras tour and now, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Add to the pile “Taylor Swift All the Songs,” a guide to the lyrics, genesis, production and secret messages of every single song, excluding “Showgirl” tracks. By Damien Somville and Marine Benoit. Black Dog & Leventhal. $60.
Got a theater buff?
What’s the beating heart of American theater? Broadway, of course. Teale Dvornik, a theater historian known on social media as The Backstage Blonde, has written a handy little history of New York’s Theater District, “History Hiding Around Broadway.” She takes it theater by theater, offering backstage insights into the venues themselves, along with shows that played there and Broadway highlights through the ages. Running Press. $25.
Christmas baking, Gilded-Age style
Sugarplums. They’re a thing! Fans of “The Gilded Age” are well aware and will eat up “The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook.” It includes treats from the era, some culinary history and a lot of old-time charm. For the record, sugarplums date to the 1600s, when they were basically just sugar. By the Gilded Age, starting roughly in the late 1800s, they were made from chopped dried figs, nuts, powdered sugar and brandy. Yes, please. By Becky Libourel Diamond. Globe Pequot. $34.95.
Forever flowers
Know a crafter? Know a flower lover? In “Everlasting Blooms,” floral artist Layla Robinson offers more than 25 projects focused on the use of dried flowers. She includes a festive flower crown, table displays, wreaths and arrangements with buds and branches. Her step-by-step guidance is easy to follow. Robinson also instructs how to forage and how to dry flowers. Hachette Mobius. $35.
Michelle Obama style
A brown polyester dress with a plaid skirt and a Peter Pan collar. That’s the very first fashion statement Michelle Obama can remember making, circa kindergarten. It was up, up and away from there, style-wise. The former first lady is out with a photo-packed book, “The Look,” taking us behind the scenes of her style and beauty choices. Crown. $50.
Boar’s Head, the deli meat company at the center of a deadly listeria food poisoning outbreak, is being scrutinized by law enforcement officials, the U.S. Agriculture Department disclosed in response to government records requests.
Officials with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service refused to share documents regarding the agency’s inspections and enforcement at the Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia, plus inspection reports from eight other company factories across the U.S.
The records — which FSIS acknowledged include dozens of pages of documentation — were withheld because they were compiled “for a law enforcement purpose, which includes both civil and criminal statutes,” according to a letter sent Friday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by The Associated Press. Releasing the records could “interfere with” and “hinder” the government’s investigation, the letter said.
The AP asked for records regarding the listeria outbreak that, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has killed 10 people and sickened at least 50 in 19 states since May. Listeria bacteria were initially detected in samples of Boar’s Head liverwurst and later traced to illnesses in people.
Previously released records revealed problems including mold, insects, dripping water and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment dating back at least two years. Boar’s Head earlier recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli meat distributed to stores across the country. This month, the Sarasota, Florida-based company said it has closed the Virginia plant and permanently stopped making liverwurst.
Boar’s Head is facing several lawsuits filed by victims and their families.
FSIS officials did not respond to AP’s emails seeking additional comment about the records. Justice Department officials declined to comment on potential legal actions against Boar’s Head.
This week, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro called on the Agriculture and Justice departments to “work closely” to determine whether to bring criminal charges against Boar’s Head in connection with the crisis. In response, USDA’s own internal investigators are reviewing the agency’s work and will decide by the end of the year whether to open an inquiry, according to Blumenthal’s office.
Past food poisoning outbreaks have resulted in criminal and civil penalties.
In 2020, Chipotle agreed to pay a record $25 million to resolve criminal charges over tainted food that sickened more than 1,100 people in outbreaks between 2015 and 2018. In 2015, former Peanut Corporation of America executive Stewart Parnell was sentenced to 28 years in prison after an outbreak of salmonella in his company’s peanut butter killed nine people and sickened more than 700.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Climate change is stressing rainforests where the highly sensitive cocoa bean grows, but chocolate lovers need not despair, say companies that are researching other ways to grow cocoa or develop cocoa substitutes.
Scientists and entrepreneurs are working on ways to make more cocoa that stretch well beyond the tropics, from Northern California to Israel.
California Cultured, a plant cell culture company, is growing cocoa from cell cultures at a facility in West Sacramento, California, with plans to start selling its products next year. It puts cocoa bean cells in a vat with sugar water so they reproduce quickly and reach maturity in a week rather than the six to eight months a traditional harvest takes, said Alan Perlstein, the company’s chief executive. The process also no longer requires as much water or arduous labor.
“We see just the demand of chocolate monstrously outstripping what is going to be available,” Perlstein said. “There’s really no other way that we see that the world could significantly increase the supply of cocoa or still keep it at affordable levels without extensive either environmental degradation or some significant other cost.”
Cocoa trees grow about 20 degrees north and south of the equator in regions with warm weather and abundant rain, including West Africa and South America. Climate change is expected to dry out the land under the additional heat. So scientists, entrepreneurs and chocolate-lovers are coming up with ways to grow cocoa and make the crop more resilient and more resistant to pests — as well as craft chocolatey-tasting cocoa alternatives to meet demand.
The market for chocolate is massive with sales in the United States surpassing $25 billion in 2023, according to the National Confectioners Association. Many entrepreneurs are betting on demand growing faster than the supply of cocoa. Companies are looking at either bolstering the supply with cell-based cocoa or offering alternatives made from products ranging from oats to carob that are roasted and flavored to produce a chocolatey taste for chips or filling.
The price of cocoa soared earlier this year because of demand and troubles with the crop in West Africa due to plant disease and changes in weather. The region produces the bulk of the world’s cocoa.
“All of this contributes to a potential instability in supply, so it is attractive to these lab-grown or cocoa substitute companies to think of ways to replace that ingredient that we know of as chocolatey-flavored,” said Carla D. Martin, executive director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute and a lecturer in African and African American Studies at Harvard University.
The innovation is largely driven by demand for chocolate in the U.S. and Europe, Martin said. While three-quarters of the world’s cocoa is grown in West and Central Africa, only 4% is consumed there, she said.
The push to produce cocoa indoors in the U.S. comes after other products, such as chicken meat, have already been grown in labs. It also comes as supermarket shelves fill with evolving snack options — something that developers of cocoa alternatives say shows people are ready to try what looks and tastes like a chocolate chip cookie even if the chip contains a cocoa substitute.
They said they also are hoping to tap into rising consciousness among consumers about where their food comes from and what it takes to grow it, particularly the use of child labor in the cocoa industry.
Planet A Foods in Planegg, Germany, contends the taste of mass market chocolate is derived largely from the fermentation and roasting in making it, not the cocoa bean itself. The company’s founders tested out ingredients ranging from olives to seaweed and settled on a mix of oats and sunflower seeds as the best tasting chocolate alternative, said Jessica Karch, a company spokesperson. They called it “ChoViva” and it can be subbed into baked goods, she said.
“The idea is not to replace the high quality, 80% dark chocolate, but really to have a lot of different products in the mass market,” Karch said.
Yet while some are seeking to create alternative cocoa sources and substitutes, others are trying to bolster the supply of cocoa where it naturally grows. Mars, which makes M&Ms and Snickers, has a research facility at University of California, Davis aimed at making cocoa plants more resilient, said Joanna Hwu, the company’s senior director of cocoa plant science. The facility hosts a living collection of cocoa trees so scientists can study what makes them disease-resistant to help farmers in producing countries and ensure a stable supply of beans.
“We see it as an opportunity, and our responsibility,” Hwu said.
In Israel, efforts to expand the supply of cocoa are also under way. Celleste Bio is taking cocoa bean cells and growing them indoors to produce cocoa powder and cocoa butter, said co-founder Hanne Volpin. In a few years, the company expects to be able to produce cocoa regardless of the impact of climate change and disease — an effort that has drawn interest from Mondelez, the maker of Cadbury chocolate.
“We only have a small field, but eventually, we will have a farm of bioreactors,” Volpin said.
That’s similar to the effort under way at California Cultured, which plans to seek permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to call its product chocolate, because, according to Perlstein, that’s what it is.
It might wind up being called brewery chocolate, or local chocolate, but chocolate no less, he said, because it’s genetically identical though not harvested from a tree.
“We basically see that we’re growing cocoa — just in a different way,” Perlstein said.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi poultry processing plant has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor that requires it to pay $164,814 in fines and put in place enhanced safety measures following the death of a 16-year-old boy at the facility.
The agreement, announced Friday in a news release, comes after an investigation of Mar-Jac Poultry by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the death of an underaged worker who was pulled into a machine as they cleaned it July 14, 2023.
“Tragically, a teenage boy died needlessly before Mar-Jac Poultry took required steps to protect its workers,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta. “This settlement demands the company commit to a safer workplace environment and take tangible actions to protect their employees from well-known hazards. Enhanced supervision and increased training can go a long way toward minimizing risks faced by workers in meat processing facilities.”
“Mar-Jac was aware of these safety problems for years and had been warned and fined by OSHA, yet did nothing. Hopefully, Mar-Jac will follow through this time so that no other worker is killed in such a senseless manner,” Jim Reeves, an attorney for the victim’s family, told WHLT-TV.
The victim’s family sued Mar-Jac Poultry MS, LLC, and Onin Staffing earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges that Perez was killed due to Mar-Jac ignoring safety regulations and not turning off machinery during sanitation. The suit also claims Onin Staffing was negligent in illegally assigning the 16-year-old to work at the plant.
Headquartered in Gainesville, Georgia, Mar-Jac Poultry has raised live birds for poultry production since 1954 at facilities in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi for food service customers in the U.S and abroad, the DOL’s news release said.
A telephone call Friday to the company seeking comment about the settlement was not answered.
I’ve been growing dwarf blueberries for three years, and my plants are covered in green fruits right now. Deliciously sweet and rich in fiber, manganese, potassium, vitamins C and K, and antioxidants, the berries are native to North America and can be grown throughout most of the continent.
There are several categories of blueberries to choose from:
• Lowbush have a low-growing, spreading habit and are reputed to produce the tastiest fruit.
• Dwarf varieties can be any type that have been bred to grow in small containers, like window boxes or hanging baskets.
New plants can take up to five years to produce a good crop, so I’ve been managing my expectations while giving them the best care.
That meant allowing them to do their own thing without any fertilizer in their first year, then giving each plant a single 4-ounce dose of ammonium sulfate in the spring of their second year. That not only nourished them but also worked to lower the soil’s pH, which is essential for blueberries.
Along with cranberries and huckleberries, blueberries have the lowest pH requirement of any edible plant, thriving only when the soil measures between 4.0 and 5.2. So applying a fertilizer labeled for acid-loving plants immediately after they flower in every subsequent year is important to keep them healthy and productive.
I’m also letting my plants grow wild until after their fifth birthday, when I’ll start annual early-spring prunings by removing old growth and thinning them to allow more air to circulate and allow sunlight to reach their centers.
With the exception of rabbiteyes, which must be cross-pollinated with other varieties (three or more is best) in order to produce fruit, most varieties are self-pollinating. Still, planting two or three different varieties together will result in bigger berries and a larger crop. That’s why I planted my Sapphire Cascade and Midnight Cascade plants in the same large pot on the back deck.
Growing conditions
All blueberries can be grown in containers (for highbush plants, use wide pots that are at least 18 inches deep).
Blueberries require a site that provides full sun, protection from strong winds and plenty of air circulation, so they shouldn’t be crowded. They also need a lot of water, with container-grown plants requiring even more than those planted in the garden.
Apply 2-3 inches of mulch around plants after the soil warms up every spring, and again in late autumn if you live in an area that experiences frosts and freezes.
And if rabbits or deer visit your garden, surrounding the plants with a temporary fencing barrier will help protect them over winter.
After harvesting (or bringing any types of berries home from the market), I give them a quick soak in a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water, then drain and store in the fridge. The few minutes spent doing that increases their life immensely. Try it!
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Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
MIAMI — As Florida’s ban on “lab-grown” meat is set to go into effect next week, one manufacturer hosted a last hurrah — at least for now — with a cultivated meat-tasting party in Miami.
California-based Upside Foods hosted dozens of guests Thursday evening at a rooftop reception in the city’s Wynwood neighborhood, known for its street art, breweries, nightclubs and trendy restaurants.
“This is delicious meat,” Upside Foods CEO and founder Uma Valeti said. “And we just fundamentally believe that people should have a choice to choose what they want to put on their plate.”
The U.S. approved the sale of what’s now being called “cell-cultivated” or “cell-cultured” meat for the first time in June 2023, allowing Upside Foods and another California company, Good Meat, to sell cultivated chicken.
Earlier this year, Florida and Alabama banned the sale of cultivated meat and seafood, which is grown from animal cells. Other states and federal lawmakers also are looking to restrict it, arguing the product could hurt farmers and pose a safety risk to the public.
While Florida cattle ranchers joined Gov. Ron DeSantis when he signed the ban into law in May, Valeti said Florida officials never reached out to his company before passing the legislation.
“It’s pretty clear to us that the governor and the government have been misinformed,” Valeti said. “And all we’re asking for is a chance to have a direct conversation and say, ‘this is proven science, this is proven safety.’”
Cultivated products are grown in steel tanks using cells from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a storage bank. The cells are fed with special blends of water, sugar, fats and vitamins. Once they’ve grown, they’re formed into cutlets, nuggets and other shapes.
Chef Mika Leon, owner of Caja Caliente in Coral Gables, prepared the cultivated chicken for Thursday’s event, which invited members of the South Florida public to get their first, and possibly last, taste of cultivated meat before Florida’s ban begins Monday. Leon served chicken tostadas with avocado, chipotle crema and beet sprouts.
“When you cook it, it sizzles and cooks just like chicken, which was insane,” Leon said. “And then when you go to eat it, it’s juicy.”
Reception guest Alexa Arteaga said she could imagine cultivated meat being a more ethical alternative.
“The texture itself is a little bit different, but the taste was really, really good,” Arteaga said. “Like way better than I was expecting.”
Another guest, Skyler Myers, agreed about the texture being different when eating a piece of meat by itself but said it just seemed like normal chicken when he ate the tostada.
“There’s no difference,” Myers said. “I mean, there’s no way you would ever know.”
Besides the ethical issues surrounding the killing of animals, Valeti said cultivated meat avoids many of the health and environmental problems created by the meat industry, such as deforestation, pollution and the spread of disease. He also noted that the meat his company produces is not coming from a lab but from a facility more closely resembling a brewery or a dairy processing plant.
“We don’t have any confined animals,” Valeti said. “We just have healthy animal cells that are growing in cultivators.”
The restrictions come despite cultivated meat and seafood still being too expensive to reach the market in a meaningful way. Two high-end U.S. restaurants briefly added the products to their menus, but it hasn’t been available at any U.S. grocery stores. Companies have been working to bring down costs by scaling up production, but now they’re also trying to respond to bans with petitions and possible legal action.
Sean Edgett, Upside Foods chief legal officer, said the company went through a yearslong process with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration before receiving approval. He said those federal regulations should supersede any state bans, which he believes are unconstitutional.
“We’re hopeful that if lawmakers can’t change their mind and turn things around back to an avenue of progress that the courts will step in and make that clear,” Edgett said.
Backers of the bans say they want to protect farmers and consumers from a product that only has been around for about a decade.
State Sen. Jay Collins, a Republican who sponsored the Florida bill, noted the legislation doesn’t ban research, just the manufacturing and sale of cultivated meat. Collins said safety was his primary motivator, but he also wants to protect Florida agriculture.
“Let’s not be in a rush to replace something,” Collins said earlier this year. “It’s a billion-dollar industry. We feed a ton of people across the country with our cattle, beef, pork, poultry and fish industries.”
Valeti isn’t trying to replace any industry, just give people more options, he said.
“We want to have multiple choices that feed us,” Valeti said. “Some of those choices are conventional farming. Some of those choices are coming from plant-based foods. And cultivated meat is another solid choice.”
MIAMI — As Florida’s ban on “lab-grown” meat is set to go into effect next week, one manufacturer hosted a last hurrah — at least for now — with a cultivated meat-tasting party in Miami.
California-based Upside Foods hosted dozens of guests Thursday evening at a rooftop reception in the city’s Wynwood neighborhood, known for its street art, breweries, nightclubs and trendy restaurants.
“This is delicious meat,” Upside Foods CEO and founder Uma Valeti said. “And we just fundamentally believe that people should have a choice to choose what they want to put on their plate.”
The U.S. approved the sale of what’s now being called “cell-cultivated” or “cell-cultured” meat for the first time in June 2023, allowing Upside Foods and another California company, Good Meat, to sell cultivated chicken.
Earlier this year, Florida and Alabama banned the sale of cultivated meat and seafood, which is grown from animal cells. Other states and federal lawmakers also are looking to restrict it, arguing the product could hurt farmers and pose a safety risk to the public.
While Florida cattle ranchers joined Gov. Ron DeSantis when he signed the ban into law in May, Valeti said Florida officials never reached out to his company before passing the legislation.
“It’s pretty clear to us that the governor and the government have been misinformed,” Valeti said. “And all we’re asking for is a chance to have a direct conversation and say, ‘this is proven science, this is proven safety.’”
Cultivated products are grown in steel tanks using cells from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a storage bank. The cells are fed with special blends of water, sugar, fats and vitamins. Once they’ve grown, they’re formed into cutlets, nuggets and other shapes.
Chef Mika Leon, owner of Caja Caliente in Coral Gables, prepared the cultivated chicken for Thursday’s event, which invited members of the South Florida public to get their first, and possibly last, taste of cultivated meat before Florida’s ban begins Monday. Leon served chicken tostadas with avocado, chipotle crema and beet sprouts.
“When you cook it, it sizzles and cooks just like chicken, which was insane,” Leon said. “And then when you go to eat it, it’s juicy.”
Reception guest Alexa Arteaga said she could imagine cultivated meat being a more ethical alternative.
“The texture itself is a little bit different, but the taste was really, really good,” Arteaga said. “Like way better than I was expecting.”
Another guest, Skyler Myers, agreed about the texture being different when eating a piece of meat by itself but said it just seemed like normal chicken when he ate the tostada.
“There’s no difference,” Myers said. “I mean, there’s no way you would ever know.”
Besides the ethical issues surrounding the killing of animals, Valeti said cultivated meat avoids many of the health and environmental problems created by the meat industry, such as deforestation, pollution and the spread of disease. He also noted that the meat his company produces is not coming from a lab but from a facility more closely resembling a brewery or a dairy processing plant.
“We don’t have any confined animals,” Valeti said. “We just have healthy animal cells that are growing in cultivators.”
The restrictions come despite cultivated meat and seafood still being too expensive to reach the market in a meaningful way. Two high-end U.S. restaurants briefly added the products to their menus, but it hasn’t been available at any U.S. grocery stores. Companies have been working to bring down costs by scaling up production, but now they’re also trying to respond to bans with petitions and possible legal action.
Sean Edgett, Upside Foods chief legal officer, said the company went through a yearslong process with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration before receiving approval. He said those federal regulations should supersede any state bans, which he believes are unconstitutional.
“We’re hopeful that if lawmakers can’t change their mind and turn things around back to an avenue of progress that the courts will step in and make that clear,” Edgett said.
Backers of the bans say they want to protect farmers and consumers from a product that only has been around for about a decade.
State Sen. Jay Collins, a Republican who sponsored the Florida bill, noted the legislation doesn’t ban research, just the manufacturing and sale of cultivated meat. Collins said safety was his primary motivator, but he also wants to protect Florida agriculture.
“Let’s not be in a rush to replace something,” Collins said earlier this year. “It’s a billion-dollar industry. We feed a ton of people across the country with our cattle, beef, pork, poultry and fish industries.”
Valeti isn’t trying to replace any industry, just give people more options, he said.
“We want to have multiple choices that feed us,” Valeti said. “Some of those choices are conventional farming. Some of those choices are coming from plant-based foods. And cultivated meat is another solid choice.”
Salad chain Sweetgreen is adding steak to its menu, an announcement that led to strong reactions online, with customers questioning how that would impact the company’s carbon neutral plans.
Founded in 2007 and known as a fast-casual spot serving salads and bowls, Sweetgreen says it will be carbon neutral by 2027 — meaning it plans to offset its own emissions by putting in place strategies that also remove carbon from the atmosphere.
But beef production is incredibly resource-intensive and a contributor to climate change. It’s the largest agricultural source of greenhouse gases globally, emitting massive amounts of methane into the atmosphere, and requires extensive land use.
Sweetgreen’s rationale for the controversial caramelized, garlic-flavored steak menu addition this week includes using regenerative farming. The chain also says carbon offsets are part of its pledge to combat climate change and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
A Sweetgreen spokesperson referred request for comment to its menu expansion details.
Regenerative agriculture means farming and ranching in a way that not only produces food from a landscape, but also sees that landscape improve ecologically, said Jason Rowntree, co-director of the Michigan State University Center for Regenerative Agriculture.
This means “minimizing disturbance, keeping ground covered,” Rowntree said, “improving biodiversity below and above ground through adding animals to your cropping systems or enhancing biology below ground.”
Many grocery chains and restaurants are starting to look to regenerative agriculture for animal proteins, grains and fruits and vegetables while meeting climate goals. Starbucks cited regenerative agriculture as one way it aims to slash its carbon, water use and waste in half by 2030. Chipotle and Burger King have also dabbled in it.
“It’s all in what you do and how you implement it,” said Allen Williams, a farmer and founder of agriculture consultancy Understanding Ag. “It allows for the repair, rebuilding and restoration of our ecosystems — and that’s critically important if we want to mitigate climate change.”
Some experts question whether regenerative agriculture can offset all emissions from beef production in particular.
Companies, including those in dining, also buy carbon offsets. They purchase “credits,” as part of a voluntary and unregulated market for projects that claim to absorb carbon dioxide that otherwise would’ve happened.
These offsets are an effort to cancel out one’s own carbon dioxide pollution. But it isn’t an exact science.
Though companies including Sweetgreen should be applauded for their efforts, “We all know that the offsets schemes over the last few years have been really problematic, to say the least,” said Jonathan Foley, executive director of climate nonprofit Project Drawdown.
Even if a chain employs productive regenerative agriculture and offsets, experts say its use of plastic, paper or non-renewable energy could negate those practices.
So the priority should be focusing on a restaurant chain’s whole carbon footprint, fostering and improving landscapes that are more resilient for food security and improving water cycling, experts say.
“At the end of the day,” Rowntree said, “I think these challenges we’re going to see with aridity, with heightened intensity of rain events followed by longer periods of drought are probably agriculture’s biggest challenge moving forward.”
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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate solutions reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.
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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Customers are seen the Utopie bakery Friday, April 26, 2024 in Paris. Baker Xavier Netry was chosen this week as the 31st winner of Paris’ annual “Grand Prix de la baguette” prize. The Utopie bakery in Paris’ 11th district that Netry works for wins 4,000 euros ($4,290) and becomes one of the suppliers of the presidential Elysee Palace for a year. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
MBARARA, Uganda — At least once a week, Girino Ndyanabo’s family converges around a pit in which bananas have been left to ripen. The bananas are peeled and thrown into a wooden vat carved like a boat, and the patriarch steps in with bare feet.
The sweet juice he presses out is filtered and sprinkled with grains of sorghum, which converts the juice into ethanol, and left to ferment for up to a day. The result is a beverage Ugandans call tonto, or tontomera, a word in the Luganda language that alludes to drinkers’ poor coordination. Weaker than bottled beer, the drink has a fruity aroma and bits of sorghum floating on its dark surface.
Tonto is legendary in Uganda. Folk singers have crooned about it, politicians seeking a common touch take a sip when hunting for votes, and traditional ceremonies terminate at dusk with tonto parties. Its devotees are many, ranging from officials in suits to laborers in sandals.
But its production is under threat as cheap bottled beer becomes more attractive to drinkers and as authorities move to curb the production of what are considered illicit home brews, which have the risk of sometimes deadly contamination. And because tonto production takes place outside official purview, authorities are unable to collect revenue from its sale.
A bill in the national assembly seeking to regulate the production and sale of alcohol would criminalize the activities of home brewers of tonto, along with other traditional brews made across this East African country.
But farmers have a more pressing concern: Not enough new banana juice cultivars are being planted to produce the brew. Communities are prioritizing the more commercially viable varieties that are boiled and eaten as a popular mash called matooke.
Ndyanabo, a farmer in the western district of Mbarara whose first experience with tonto was as a little boy in the 1970s, said he has only a few plants left of the cultivars from which the banana juice is extracted.
He sources his bananas one bunch at a time from farmers near him until he can fill the small pit on his plantation. The natural underground heat ripens the bananas within days as Ndyanabo prepares for the weekly pressing.
The event is so important in the family’s routine that they can’t imagine a time when there would no tonto to sell.
While Ndyanabo said his weekly brew has an assured market, he has seen both demand and supply slow in recent years. This is partly because the retail price of tonto has been largely static over the decades, while the process of brewing it has become more cumbersome.
The distances traveled in search of bananas have grown. The price of sorghum has gone up.
“You take a lot of time doing this work. It’s not as easy as someone who cuts matooke, puts it on a bicycle and sells it for cash immediately,” Ndyanabo said of the green bananas that are eaten raw as a Ugandan staple. “Alcohol comes from very far.”
He’s been trying to plant more of the banana juice cultivars that are known to grow faster. And his son, Mathias Kamukama, is always there to help.
The family makes five or six 20-liter jerricans in each batch. A jerrican’s worth sells for the equivalent of about $8. A half-liter of tonto retails for about 27 cents, compared to 67 cents for the cheapest bottled beer.
One customer is Benson Muhereza, an electrician who regularly visits a small bar in a poor suburb of Mbarara.
“It’s like a favorite drink when you have your lunch. It’s like a juice. When you don’t want to take beer, you come and have your tonto,” Muhereza said.
He described tonto like a “porridge” that doesn’t give him a hangover. “Every day you should have it,” he said.
Christine Kyomuhangi, the tonto seller, said she receives two jerricans of the brew every day. She acknowledged the threats to her business but smiled, insisting her work is sustainable. She said customers come from all over the city.
