Culinology - March 2020 - 46

PETITS fours

New name, new focus
for Grocery Manufacturers Association
The Grocery Manufacturers Association will change its name to the Consumer
Brands Association effective January 2020. The new name is part of an overhaul of the organization being implemented by Geoff Freeman, president
and chief executive officer, and the group's board of directors.
"We represent an industry of iconic brands that are innovative,
forward-looking and touch the lives of every American," Mr. Freeman
said. "As the new Consumer Brands Association, we are making
a game-changing shift to unite the totality of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry around a focused, proactive agenda that
aligns with the values of the brands we represent and the consumers
they serve."
The group's agenda is built on four pillars: packaging sustainability,
smart regulation, developing frictionless supply chains and building
consumer trust in CPG companies.
"Renaming and rebranding this organization is symbolic of a larger
realignment with the CPG industry's consumer-first priorities and our desire
to have a more open and transparent dialogue with policymakers, customers
and consumers," said Jeffrey L. Harmening, chairman of the association's board and
chief executive officer of General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis. 

FDA to propose glucomannan
meets fiber definition
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Jan. 10 said it intends to propose that
glucomannan meets the agency's definition of dietary fiber because it has
been shown to help reduce blood cholesterol, which qualifies as a physiological health benefit. Glucomannan is found in the tuber or root of the
elephant yam, also known as the konjac plant.
The FDA in 2016 gave a definition for dietary fiber for the first time as
certain naturally occurring fibers that are "intrinsic and intact" in
plants and added isolated or synthetic non-digestible soluble and
insoluble carbohydrates that the FDA has determined have physiological effects that benefit human health.
Konjac flour may be turned into a stiff, viscous jelly, and the material
is high in fiber and virtually free of calories. With the FDA's notification
for glucomannan, there are now 17 categories of non-digestible carbohydrates, including a broad category of mixed plant cell wall fibers, that either
are included in the definition of dietary fiber or are non-digestible carbohydrates that the FDA intends to propose be added to the definition. Seven of the
fibers were identified in the Nutrition Facts Label final rule as meeting the dietary fiber definition,
according to the FDA. Until the agency completes rulemaking to add additional fibers to the
regulatory definition of dietary fiber, it said it will exercise enforcement discretion to allow manufacturers to include the amount of the additional fibers in the dietary fiber declaration. 

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Culinology | MARCH 2020
Culinology - March 2020

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