BakeryandSnacks.com spoke to Lee Sanders, senior vice president of government relations and public affairs for the American Bakers Association, about the core issues set to hit industry and what bakers should expect.
“The atmosphere right now is very intense. There’s a lot of pressure for new regulations on industry and certainly that impacts the baker’s bottom line,” Sanders said.
She said that the US government shutdown has put pressure on bakers, but issues like commodity volatility, food safety and sustainability are also a concern.
“There are so many issues… we have a full platter of issues – there are 63 issues that the American Bakers Association is tracking and monitoring. And then we have top-ten issues where we really focus in on what’s happening right now,” she said.
Sanders warned that bakers should expect to see a lot of upheaval in the future, given potential changes to nutrition labelling set for 2015 in the US dietary guidelines review.