• 🛒 Whole Foods to Open Mini “Daily Shop” Stores in New York
• 🌭 Hot Dog! Applegate All In On Regenerative Beef
• 💚 Kuli Kuli Goes All In On Gummies and Blends
• 🌱 Los Angeles Is Officially Going Plant-Based

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it will allow the first ever qualified health claim for yogurt. The news comes in response to a 2018 petition from Danone North America and recognizes a potential link between yogurt consumption and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. 

⏪ Danone petitioned that the FDA should green light the claim for all yogurts that meet the agency’s standard of identity. It also highlighted that the evidence supports the health effects of yogurt as a food rather than any single nutrient or compound in the product, meaning the claim can be made regardless of fat or sugar content. 

✅ What are the parameters? Dairy companies can now say that eating yogurt regularly – at least two cups (three servings) per week – may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes according to limited scientific evidence. Diabetes is one of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. and currently impacts more than 37 million Americans. 

💭 “Our hope is that this information will inspire the food industry as a whole to increase its focus on yogurt innovation and research to continue unlocking the full extent of its potential benefits,” said Miguel Freitas, VP of health and scientific affairs at Danone North America, in an email to Nosh. 

🧑‍🔬 An FDA qualified health claim is supported by scientific evidence but does not meet the more rigorous “significant scientific agreement” standard required for an authorized health claim. The agency has previously approved similar claims such as whole grains reducing the risk of diabetes and cranberry juice’s effect on recurring UTIs. 

💬 Registered dietician Dana White (who was not involved in the process) said, “The language is important. In this case there are intentional efforts made to specify how much yogurt is being considered. Whether or not people will pay attention to portions and the other specifics of the recommendations is harder to control.” 

Heading to Anaheim next week? Check out Nosh’s Unofficial Guide to Expo West, beginning with this handy, letter-perfect primer that is equal parts educational and entertaining. Whether you’re a rookie or a regular, make sure to master the lingo before your plane touches down at LAX (while you wish you had opted to fly into John Wayne).

If anyone knows the value of quick service and convenience, it would be Amazon. So, as the e-commerce giant deepens its grocery ambitions, the company is turning to Whole Foods to launch a new chain of small format “mini” stores in urban areas, designed around low-pressure, quick trip shopping.

🗽 The first Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will open this fall in Manhattan and the company has secured at least five leases for locations in New York City with plans to expand around the country later on.

📐 The stores will range from 7,000 to 14,000 sq. ft. (contrast to the 40,000 sq ft. average of a full-sized Whole Foods) and will come stocked with fresh produce, meat and seafoods and other essentials.

🍎 This is all part of Amazon’s grander vision for grocery. Remember back in 2020, when Amazon launched its value-priced Amazon Fresh stores in select markets? These Daily Shops are now another differentiated type of brick-and-mortar store in its fast-growing portfolio.

Doesn’t a Mini Whole Foods sound familiar? Read the full story on Nosh to find out why. 

Organic meat processor Applegate is working to transition all of its hot dog inputs to beef raised on verified regenerative grasslands by the end of 2025. 

🐄 The Hormel subsidiary said it will work with its network of more than 250 cattle farmers to implement a regenerative standard through third-party verification programs like Land to Market. 

🌱 The move is expected to contribute to the regeneration of six million acres of grasslands, increasing the current regenerative acreage of the brand’s suppliers by more than 2,200%. 

👏 Applegate’s commitment to a 100% regenerative beef supply builds on its 2021 launch of the Do Good Dog, which it claimed was the first nationally available hot dog made with beef raised on regenerative U.S. grasslands.

🌾 Also from the Regen Ag sphere: Lundberg Family Farms announced today it has become the leading Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) food brand with more than 70 certified products across its portfolio, spanning packaged rice, rice cakes, rice and seasoning mixes, and 90-second rice. 

Moringa-focused nutrition company Kuli Kuli announced today it will debut four new products spanning two formats at Natural Products Expo West next week. But there’s a twist: the new gummy and smoothie blend offerings will not feature its hero ingredient.

📚 Founder and CEO Lisa Curtis explained that the brand is looking to apply the learnings it has gathered from popularizing moringa in the U.S. and create a “gateway” for other climate-friendly, functional, unknown superfoods.

🍊 Those efforts have brought the brand to baobab, a native African plant whose fruits contain high volumes of vitamin C and antioxidants. Kuli Kuli’s new Berry Beautiful SuperGummies and  Citrus C Defense Superfood Blend both contain the ingredient.

💭 The brand is building on “what we’ve learned with moringa” said Curtis. “How to introduce an unknown superfood, how to build a sustainable supply chain around a specialty crop and be able to introduce more climate-smart, nutrient-rich crops into our diet. As our climate changes our diet needs to change with it.” 

Check out the full story for more details on all the new products.

Los Angeles County will now prioritize plant-based options when sourcing future food service provider contracts for county agencies, according to a motion passed last week. The move is expected to advance health outcomes, address climate change and meet economic goals for the expansive metropolitan area.

🤔 The new policy, spearheaded by L.A. County supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis, directs the Department of Public Health to use evidence-based recommendations to purchase, sell and serve more plant-based foods.

🏭 Additionally, the new policy also will collect data and track carbon emissions produced by the county’s food purchasing decisions.

✅ Animal welfare organization Mercy for Animals worked closely on the motion and cited a recent survey it conducted with responses from 500 L.A. residents that found 79% “supported legislation to encourage plant-based food purchasing with taxpayer dollars.”