USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced nearly $12 million in organic certification assistance is available through the department in order to make certification more affordable for organic producers and handlers in the US.

The anti-obesity non profit Alliance for a Healthier Generation and a coalition of some America’s biggest beverage companies began work at four Los Angeles area neighborhoods as part of an initiative to help reduce beverage calories consumed by 20 percent per person by 2025.

Post Holdings, Inc. announced Friday the company plans to consolidate its Post Foods and MOM Brands cereal businesses into one group that will be headquartered out of Lakeville, Minnesota—the existing MOM Brands facilities.

The infection rate for serious forms of E. coli and Salmonella decreased in 2014 compared with the baseline period of 2006-2008, the CDC announced this week.

As part of the company’s commitment to sustainability, Monsanto announced it has adopted an operational greenhouse gas emissions intensity goal of reducing its emissions from crop protection operations by 22 percent by 2020.

While some consider cloud-based software to be more cost effective and efficient that its counterparts, a new survey of manufacturers found that 66 percent saw improvements in plant productivity after deploying the systems.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. announced this week it has acquired Blake’s All Natural Foods in a move to grow its frozen food business.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed it found the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in a backyard mixed-poultry flock in Whitley County, Indiana. The flu strain is different from the HPAI H5N2 virus that has been detected in multiple states throughout the Mississippi flyway. The H5N8 strain had previously only been confirmed in the Pacific flyway.

Recognizing outstanding young professionals in the global cold chain industry, the Global Cold Chain Alliance announced Joey Williams as the recipient of the 2015 Global NextGen Award.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) finalized new labeling requirements for raw or partially cooked beef products that have been mechanically tenderized in an effort to give consumers and food service facilities more information about the products they are buying. The labels will also include cooking instructions on how to safely prepare the products.