"Don't burn those french fries. And keep those cookies light," said Agri-Pulse in summarizing FDA's guidance to foodmakers to reduce levels of acrylamide, a possible carcinogen.

North Dakotans will vote in a June 14 referendum on a law that allows corporate hog and dairy farming in the state, says the Fargo Forum. The North Dakota Farmers Union led a petition drive that collected more than 19,000 signatures to refer the law to the voters.

Two environmental groups sued the Interior Department to force a decision on listing the monarch butterfly as an endangered species.

In response to the worst drought in a century, South Africa will relax some of its rules on importing GMO corn so it can ramp up supplies of the grain, says Reuters.

Legislation intended to make U.S. food assistance programs more efficient was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bill includes the first-ever authorization of the Feed the Future, an Obama administration initiative to improve local food production.

India, the Philippines and Indonesia are studying soda taxes, reports Reuters, saying, "2016 may be the year of the sugar tax as several large nations consider levies on sweetened food and drinks to battle obesity and fatten government coffers."

In the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister in 19 years, President Obama said repeal of country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for pork and beef "bring the United States into compliance with its international trade obligations."

A two-year study in Nebraska indicates that current guidelines on separation between cattle feedlots and fields growing fresh produce are likely to be inadequate, says Food Safety News.

A new survey of more than 500 poultry workers in Arkansas found that 62 percent had experienced some kind of wage violation (e.g. not being paid or being deducted unfairly for safety gear) and 44 percent reported being verbally or sexually harassed.

More than half of California is diabetic or pre-diabetic, says a new study out by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. Without treatment, more than 70 percent of pre-diabetics will eventually get the disease.

Robert Califf, a prominent medical researcher before joining FDA as a deputy commissioner in January 2015, now holds the top job at the agency. The Senate voted 89-4 to confirm the nomination made last September by President Obama.

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Fourteen months after President Obama began to normalize relations with Cuba, the USDA is asking for money to open an office in Cuba. "The goal is to alert Congress there is an expanded trade opportunity available with Cuba," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters.

In a show of solidarity, 254 groups spanning the world of food and agriculture signed a letter of opposition to any cuts in USDA programs in the coming fiscal year.

DuPont says in a court filing that EPA's decision to lower the targets for the Renewable Fuels Standard puts at risk its investment in a 30-million-gallon-a-year cellulosic plant in central Iowa, reports DTN.