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2014 GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2014 www.gourmetnews.com YEAR IN REVIEW 1 6 BY LUCAS WITMAN Throughout 2014, CNN often looked like The Food Network, and the Food section of the New York Times often crept forward into the pages of U.S. and World News. This is because, in the past year, the world of food has become increasingly newswor- thy, and national and global current events have time and again impacted U.S. con- sumers where they eat. In February, First Lady Michele Obama announced that the FDA would be chang- ing the content and format of modern nu- trition facts labels for the first time in two decades. The move comes as U.S. con- sumers are more concerned than ever about nutrition and food safety. In the past year, consumer groups have fought against GMOs, the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, the dilution of organic standards and even sugary sodas. And, all the while, Americans have been con- fronting food safety scares related to E. coli and salmonella bacteria and contam- inated food imports. Perhaps the industry most severely im- pacted by the current fervor over food safety is specialty cheese. In 2014, the FDA's interest in cheese reached new heights, with the agency reconsidering (and re-reconsidering) its best practices for the safe production of artisan cheese. In June, the cheese industry made national headlines, when the FDA appeared to briefly ban the aging of cheeses on wooden boards, a common practice among Ameri- can cheesemakers. The agency has also ruf- fled feathers in the past year by considering revisions to its standards for the safe aging of raw milk cheeses. In a move toward in- creasing collaboration between the regula- tors and the cheesemakers themselves, however, FDA officials met with cheese in- dustry leaders in July at the American Cheese Society Conference in Sacramento, California, where they pledged to meet an- nually to discuss issues of mutual concern. Elsewhere in the news, many of this year's biggest current events have resulted in significant impacts to what and how Americans eat. Perhaps the biggest example of this is the ongoing drought that is affect- ing much of the country. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nine states are cur- rently experiencing extreme and excep- tional drought, most notably California, Nevada, Oregon and Texas. As a result of this weather phenomenon, U.S. consumers are paying more for and/or have somewhat limited access to dairy, poultry, pork, beef and many fruits and vegetables, as well as packaged foods manufactured from these ingredients. Another major news event that has un- expectedly manifested itself this year as se- riously impacting the world of food is the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Tensions rose in 2014 as Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine, annex- ing the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. The military action drew the ire of U.S. and Eu- ropean governments, which imposed sanc- tions on the world power. In August, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that, in response to these sanc- tions, the country was henceforth banning imports of most foods produced in the United States, Canada, EU, Australia and Norway for at least the next year. It is yet to be seen how severely this ban will im- pact U.S. and European food producers that sell a significant portion of their prod- ucts in Russia. When it comes to particular foods that were popular among U.S. consumers in 2014, spicy flavors perhaps trumped all others as the in-demand flavors of the year. This includes the fiery Asian staple sauce sriracha, indubitably the year's top condi- ment. Charcuterie continues to be huge, with more and more chefs and specialty stores crafting their own unique sausages and pâtés for hungry meat lovers. However, vegetarian dieting is also trending, with consumers flocking to an ever-increasing bevy of meatless protein alternatives, such as Beyond Meat and Gardein. Craft beer and cocktails were huge in 2014 and show no sign of slowing down any time soon. And when it came to sweeteners, more and more consumers reached for the maple syrup jug in 2014, as well as for natural sweeteners like stevia, eschewing artificial products. GN The Year in Food and Food News IN JUNE, AN FDA OFFICIAL RELEASED A LETTER THAT APPEARED TO REVEAL THAT THE AGENCY WAS BANNING THE PRACTICE OF USING WOODEN CHEESE BOARDS FOR AGING CHEESES. IN RESPONSE TO AN IMMEDIATE PUBLIC OUTCRY, THE FDA QUICKLY BACKTRACKED ON THE PRONOUNCEMENT. DROUGHT CONTINUES TO AFFECT MUCH OF THE COUNTRY, WITH PARTS OF CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED AS UNDER EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS, THE MOST SEVERE CLASSIFICATION POSSIBLE, BY THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR. IN AUGUST, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER DMITRY MEDVEDEV ANNOUNCED A BAN ON IMPORTS OF ALL MEAT, SEAFOOD, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, DAIRY AND FRESH PREPARED FOODS PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, EU, AUSTRALIA AND NORWAY FOR THE NEXT YEAR.

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