Author name: Microsalt

FDA Wants Your Ingredient List. Is It Ready? For decades, many ingredients considered Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) have avoided formal FDA notification. Now, the FDA is proposing new requirements that would require manufacturers to notify the agency of GRAS ingredients, including those already on the market. This is not a ban or premarket approval.

History is about to repeat itself, but the stakes are higher. In the late 2000s, Britain’s best-selling crisp brand pulled off something remarkable: it reduced sodium without consumers noticing. Working towards the UK’s voluntary salt reduction targets, Walkers gradually lowered sodium year after year. Taste stayed the same. Sales remained strong. Nearly two decades later,

The Regulatory Clock Is Ticking and First Movers Win. In 1990, the U.S. Nutrition Labeling and Education Act forced food companies to put nutrition facts on every package. The law didn’t ban sodium. It simply made it visible. Companies that had already reduced sodium marketed their cleaner numbers as a feature. Those that hadn’t found

Beyond Reformulation: The New Era of Functional Standardization. As we approach the mid-year mark of 2026, the global food industry has reached a point of no return. We are witnessing the Standardization of Health: a strategic shift where nutritional density is no longer a “premium line” feature, but a baseline requirement across entire product portfolios.

Five years ago, a better-for-you brand with no heritage and no shelf history was a long shot. Today, it’s the fastest-growing part of the food industry. Across categories, challengers are outperforming incumbents. Not because they spend more, but because they move faster. They follow a clear playbook: cleaner labels, functional ingredients, and faster development. The

For years, protein was the “gold standard” for functional snacks, driving billions of dollars into “protein-boosted” innovation. But as we move through 2026, a new nutrient is stealing the scene: Fiber. The shift is backed by staggering data: 64% of consumers are now intentionally seeking fiber to bridge the “fiber gap,” with only 5% of

The FDA’s 2026 Human Foods Program (HFP) deliverables signal a significant pivot toward “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA). For manufacturers, the most critical change is the proposed rule to mandate Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notices, effectively ending the era of self-GRAS marketing. As the FDA intensifies its post-market safety reviews of food chemicals and

On January 7, 2026, the USDA and HHS unveiled a streamlined 10-page guide with a clear mandate: “Eat Real Food”. The new visual framework includes an inverted pyramid that prioritizes whole proteins, dairy, and vegetables at the widest section, while grains now represent a smaller portion of the recommended diet. For the first time, federal

In the 1970s, Finland faced one of the highest cardiovascular mortality rates in Europe. Today, it stands as a global reference point for population-wide sodium reduction — proving that coordinated reformulation and transparent communication can transform public health. Finland’s journey began with the North Karelia Project, which united policymakers, academia, and the food industry around