Stephen Peters

Last week I had the privilege of presenting at the Food Allergy & Safety Initiative (FASI) 2026 conference in Boston — an event that brought together food safety professionals, hospitality operators, and regulatory leaders at a critical moment for our industry. Allergen disclosure legislation is moving fast. Multiple states have now introduced menu labeling bills, but they all point to the same underlying gap: food service operators don't have the infrastructure to manage allergen compliance at scale. The conversations happening at FASI reinforced what we see every day at Foodini: compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. The operators who treat dietary inclusion as a revenue strategy — not just a legal obligation — are the ones pulling ahead. A few things that stood out: → The gap between regulatory intent and operational readiness is widening — and that gap is where liability lives. → Allergen compliance isn't a one-time checkbox. It requires ingredient-level data infrastructure that scales with the menu, the staff, and the guest. → The industry is ready for this conversation. The energy in the room made that clear. Grateful to Betsy Craig and the team for organizing a great event! #FoodSafety #AllergenCompliance #DietaryIntelligence #Foodini #FASI2026 #FoodAllergy #Hospitality

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A Bryn Mawr wine distributor’s legal challenge against the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is drawing attention to long-standing issues in how wine reaches local restaurants. Click here to read 👉 https://ebx.sh/vmJha9

🚨 Anheuser-Busch Announces It Will Close Two Breweries and Sell Another Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) will close two of its breweries and sell another, Brewbound reported today. ABI is selling its Newark, New Jersey location to property developer Goodman Group and will end operations at its Merrimack, New Hampshire and Fairfield, California facilities next year. The shutterings will lower the beverage conglomerate’s brewery count to nine. ABI cited updates to production at other facilities as the reason for the consolidation. More details at the link in comments...

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The Garden State Wine Growers Association (GSWGA) represents the New Jersey wine community annually at the New Jersey Agriculture Convention. Joining over 90 delegates and agricultural leaders from across the state for insightful panels, meaningful conversations, and collaboration, we focused on the future of New Jersey agriculture and wine. Our friends at Farm Credit East have provided generous support and education during our monthly GSWGA meeting held at the convention, and we look forward to their impactful Wine Benchmarks Program. Farm Credit East provides significant support to the Northeast wine and grape industry through its specialized Winery Benchmarks Program. This program helps winery and cidery businesses compare their financial and operational performance against industry peers, offering in-depth analysis to improve on many fronts. Cheers to all that's ahead for the NJ wine community and our partners! #farmcrediteast #agconvention #newjerseywine #newjerseywines #agritourism Farm Credit East, ACA Jersey Fresh New Jersey Department of Agriculture

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Michael Schrob, Director of Food Sourcing and Procurement   How SNAP cuts would reshape food sourcing for New Jersey's food banks     As Director of Food Sourcing and Procurement at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, I manage the acquisition of food from three main sources: purchased products through grants and private financial donations, government programs, and food donations from NJ retailers, food industry donors, and local farms. If SNAP benefits are reduced, more families will turn to food banks to bridge the gap - but our food sourcing capacity won’t automatically increase to meet that demand.     ⚠️Every purchasing decision would change. CFBNJ carefully budgets for different food categories - fresh produce, frozen protein, shelf-stable items, and more. If benefits decrease and demand rises, we may have to adjust the mix of products we source to serve more people. For example, we may need to reduce purchases of fresh produce and protein items to purchase less expensive shelf-stable items in order to serve more families. The goal remains nourishing New Jersey families with healthy food, but when every dollar needs to stretch further to meet increased demand, the variety and mix of what we can offer may change.     ⚠️We'd rely more on donated food and private financial support. Our partnerships with food retailers and distributors would become even more critical, as would the individual donors and community groups who provide donated items and the funding to purchase food. If SNAP benefits are reduced and we have more families to feed, these donations would need to fill a much larger gap. Government budget cuts put the responsibility on individuals, companies, community groups, and foundations to help ensure that our neighbors are fed.     ⚠️The operational reality is challenging. Food banks are already managing reduced government food supplies with less Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) this year. The termination of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (LFPA) directly impacts fresh produce and protein purchases from NJ farms and producers.     ➡️The bottom line: We're committed to addressing food insecurity in New Jersey, but SNAP cuts may mean sourcing food for many more families without additional resources to work with.     SNAP cuts don't just affect recipients; they reshape how food banks operate and what we can provide to our communities. Join with others to make your voices heard before Congress votes on policies that would strain the entire food assistance system: cfbnj.org/protectsnap

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Starting today, July 1, 2025, Maine has expanded its bottle redemption law to include direct-to-consumer wine shippers for the first time. That means new compliance obligations for DTC wine merchants—especially at checkout. With DRINKS Assure, you’re already covered. Our latest update enables merchants to automatically apply Maine’s bottle deposit fee during checkout—just toggle it on in your tax settings. ✔ No engineering work ✔ No missed fees ✔ No compliance gaps If your platform can’t keep up with changes like this, it wasn’t built for DTC alcohol. DRINKS Assure is. #AlcoholEcommerce #DTCWine #Compliance #DRINKSAssure #Maine #BottleDeposit

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Food inflation is re-accelerating just as 2026 starts: Consumer Edge Food Pricing Index shows ~+40 bps in the first two weeks of January, and 51% of categories now running >3% YoY. If groceries stay “sticky,” where does discretionary spend come from in 2026—less travel, fewer upgrades, more debt? The mix shift matters more than the headline CPI. Thanks to Michael Gunther, CFA for this deep dive! #consumer #inflation #retail

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How does dairy in New England impact the regional economy? Join us online on April 1 to find out! Over the past year, Camoin Associates has examined the role of dairy across all six New England states, from farm production to processing, distribution, and markets, to better understand the industry’s economic contributions and future opportunities. Funded by NE-DBIC, the study evaluates economic impacts, regional product flows, pricing dynamics across the value chain, and the effectiveness of public investments supporting the sector. Dig into the findings on April 1, from 10am to 11am. Register here: https://lnkd.in/et9CJCih

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