North American Meat Institute President and CEO Barry Carpenter Thursday told Senate Agriculture Committee members that mandatory country of origin labeling must be repealed to avoid a possible $3 billion in annual penalties. Carpenter was one of six witnesses to testify in the hearing.

Milk producers are applauding bipartisan legislation they say would help reverse the decline of milk consumed in schools. Rep. G. T. Thompson (R-PA) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) are co-sponsoring the School Milk Nutrition Act of 2015, aimed at preserving milk’s place on the school lunch menu.

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has expanded an investigation into Whole Foods Market after the department says it found evidence of systemic overcharging on pre-packaged foods at the city’s stores.

International food retailers Delhaize Group and Koninklijke Ahold N.V. announced they have entered into an agreement to merge companies, creating a business that will serve 50 million people across the US and Europe each week.

USDA released a new report detailing discoveries by USDA researchers that have led to new patents and inventions with the potential for commercial applications. The innovations highlighted in this year’s report include allergen-free solutions for peanut and wheat allergy sufferers as well as a process for faster egg pasteurization.

Representatives of the food industry continue to express their displeasure with the Vermont law that requires the mandatory labeling of genetically modified food and are not going down without a fight, despite the April court ruling that denied a preliminary injunction to block the law from going into effect.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced he has extended the country’s ban on foreign food imports for another year.

A US District Court judge granted the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request on Tuesday for a preliminary injunction to block the proposed merger between Sysco and US Foods, two of the country’s biggest food distribution companies.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed new members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) for the 2015-2017 term.

Anheuser-Busch will invest more than 1.5 billion in its US operations during the next three years. The money will go towards upgrading the beer giant’s brewing, agriculture, packaging and distribution operations.