Eat + Drink Vermont

You have to feel for LAWSON’S FINEST LIQUIDS when it sought to register “CHINOOKER’D IPA,” sailed through the examination process and was almost home free when the owner of a Yakima, WA winery filed an opposition and launched what turned …

Vermont’s own MAD RIVER DISTILLERS was honored at the most prestigious global spirits competition, the 2020 Ultimate Spirits Challenge, where it scored 92 points, a Chairman’s Trophy and judged best value for its Rum 44: a silver demerara rum distilled …

The Vermont Legislature recently completed three pieces of legislation intended to deliver economic relief to Vermont businesses harmed by the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each bill focuses on a different sector of the economy, but they are …

In 2017, the FDA completed the first sweeping update in more than 20 years of the nutrition facts label, changing the design of the label and the list of nutrients to be declared. In the context of the nearly 40% …

While the current crisis might bring out the worst in some, in Vermont, it brings out the best in most. Already we see a growing swell of generous community spirit among Vermonters who are not only willing, but driven to …

Concerned about being able to meet your contractual obligations . . . or concerned about whether your suppliers will meet their contractual obligations to you as the impact of Covid-19 unfolds? My colleagues at Gravel & Shea evaluated how typical …

Food and beverage companies continually develop their products and work to streamline operations to remain both profitable and relevant as consumer palates and markets change, ingredient prices or availabilities shift, and new processes or machinery become available. These evolutions are …

The FDA announced today that routine FSMA inspections of small farms (other than sprout farms) are slated to commence in Spring of 2020, but if states (like Vermont) that receive funding as part of the State Produce Implementation Cooperative Agreement …

The Specialty Food Association has been presenting sofi™ Awards to the best and most innovative specialty food products for 47 years. Fifty-eight judges from the food industry, including chefs, culinary instructors, recipe developers, food journalists and buyers  conduct blind tasting …

In today’s Consumer Update, “What You Need to Know (and What We’re Working to Find Out) About Products Containing Cannabis or Cannabis-derived Compounds, Including CBD,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acknowledged the rapid expansion of CBD products on offer …

2018 was a bad year for lettuce. On January 10, 2018 the CDC reported that a 2017 E. coli outbreak “likely related to” unidentified “leafy greens” had ended.  The multi-state outbreak involving infections in 15 U.S. states and five Canadian …

As the federal government shutdown marches through its third week, many regulated businesses are evaluating how they might navigate the closures in the short and the longer terms. Read on for some of the ways the government shutdown is affecting …

UPDATED June 20, 2018 In response to more than 3000 comments from the maple and honey industries, the FDA is reconsidering whether it will require producers of pure maple syrup and pure honey to break out “added sugars” on their …

Are you ready for the FDA inspection?   The Food Safety Modernization Act has been in place since 2011, but it took some time for the FDA to implement the rules.  Now that many compliance deadlines have passed (see here for …

When preparing for FSMA inspections, my checklist will help you, and no one preparation can be said to be more important than another . . .  other than, perhaps,  records, records, RECORDS. Did I mention records? Did you make a …