The Almond Board of California (ABC) announced a $2.5 million dollar commitment to independent, third-party research into next-generation farming practices.

At a special presentation on Sunday morning at IFT15: Where Science Feeds Innovation, IFT President-Elect Colin Dennis announced and presented four companies with the 2015 IFT Food Expo Innovation Award. The winners are Aseptia Technologies, Corbion, Ecolab, and Parabel.

Happy Tree sales at Whole Foods Market have tripled since March, and Q2 2015 revenue for the brand has more than doubled over Q1 2015.

Few foods are as essential to the American diet as the versatile and ubiquitous sandwich. Research indicates the sandwich is a staple food across the full spectrum of U.S. adults regardless of gender, age, household income, race, or geographic location. Roughly 79% of all adults have eaten a sandwich in the past seven days, according to data published in the all-new Packaged Facts report, Sandwiches: Market Trends and Opportunities.

"America's beverage companies are committed to being part of real solutions to public health challenges. This study does not show that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages causes chronic diseases and the authors themselves acknowledge that they are at best estimating effects of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

The report "Functional Food Ingredients Market by Type (Protein, Vitamin, Mineral, Prebiotic & Probiotic, Hydrocolloid, Essential Oil, Fatty Acid, Carotenoid), Application (Food & Beverage), Health Benefit (Gut, Bone, Health, Immunity, Nutrition), & by Region - Global Forecast to 2020", The Functional Food Ingredients Market is projected to reach about $2.5 Billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of about 6% from 2015 to 2020.

The program, which has sparked dramatically positive behavioral changes in thousands of participants, will improve America's eating habits through a dynamic four-week program that inspires people to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Raspberry Rhubarb Goat Milk Caramels from Big Picture Farm in Townshend, Vt. is the winner of the sofi™ Award for outstanding new product of 2015. The confection is one of 33 winners in the annual competition which honors excellence across all specialty food categories, from appetizers to pastas to vinegar.

The Kraft Heinz Company announced the successful completion of the merger between Kraft and Heinz.