Revelry Foods, a division of Portland, Ore.-based Revelry Group, said Federated Foodservice, an Arlington Heights, Ill.-headquartered distributor buying group, named Revelry Foods “Supplier of the Year.” Revelry Foods produces dairy- and nondairy-based Yay! Beverages, which are said to be perfect for schools, not-for-profits and a variety of other commercial and non-commercial applications.

“Revelry Foods is proud to partner with Federated Foodservice and other leaders across the foodservice industry in helping nourish kids and families experiencing food insecurity connected to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jim Crystal, founder of Revelry Group.  

Danone North America, headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., and Broomfield, Colo., said it expanded its gender-neutral Parental Bonding Leave policy to its manufacturing employees, enabling them to take up to 18 weeks’ paid time off after the birth or adoption of their child. This benefit is now available to all the company’s 5,700 U.S. employees, whether they work in an office or in one of Danone’s 14 manufacturing facilities across the country.

London-based Froneri said Patrice Bula was appointed as the ice cream company’s chairman. Bula will replace Luis Cantarell, who expressed his desire to step down at the end of December. Bula is currently executive vice president with Vevey, Switzerland-based Nestlé and a supervisory board member of Froneri. Froneri is a joint‐venture partnership between Nestlé and PAI Partners, Paris, that was created in September 2016.

The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association said it will offer a free COVID-19 webinar exclusively to members on Thursday, Dec. 10 from 1:00-1:45 p.m. (CST). Tim Anderson, manager of the Division of Food and Recreational Safety for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, will present on December 10, alongside WCMA staff. For more information or to register, visit WisCheeseMakers.org.

This year marked the first time FDA required food facilities to submit Unique Facility Identifiers (UFIs) to renew their FDA registrations. In response to delays surrounding facilities’ being able to obtain UFIs before the deadline, FDA announced on Dec. 1, 2020 that it will exercise "enforcement discretion" regarding the mandatory UFI requirement, according to Registar Corp, Hampton, Va.

Under FDA's enforcement discretion, facilities may submit new registrations and registration renewals without a UFI. Facilities that do this will have 90 calendar days from the date of their submission to update their registration with a valid UFI number, the company said. According to FDA, facilities that fail to update their registration with a valid UFI within 90 calendar days of submitting a registration or renewal will have their registrations cancelled.

Messe Düsseldorf North America, Chicago, said it has decided to cancel both Interpack and Components 2021, due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trade fairs were scheduled to take place from Feb. 25 – March 3, 2021, at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

FoodChain ID, a Deerfield, Ill.-based food safety, testing and sustainability organization, said it created a vegetarian, plant-based and vegan (VEG) certification program.

“Consumers are increasingly turning to a full range of plant-based and meatless products, especially as alternative protein sources,” said Mark Dabroski, FoodChain’s senior vice president, commerical services. “This newly established certification is in response to customer demand for a labeling solution that provides greater product transparency.”

Packaging company Amcor Flexibles North America (AFNA), Buffalo Grove, Ill., said it is offering customers a full-day virtual conference to address marketplace insights, trends and technical enhancements that deliver value and unlock growth potential through packaging. AFNA’s Big Ideas conference will air virtually beginning at 9 a.m. CT on Thursday, Dec. 10. To register, visit https://www.amcor.com/afna.

Radar Process, a Barcelona, Spain-based specialist in ingredient handling for the food, pet food and nutraceutical industries, announced a collaboration agreement with Cardinal Process Solutions to represent Radar Process in the U.S. market. Cardinal Process Solutions CEO Alberto Rodríguez, with more than 25 years of experience in the material-handling sector, will be heading up the effort.

Multivac, Wolfertschwenden, Germany, said it is the only supplier of packaging solutions among Bloomberg and the UN’s "50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders” initiative. The initiative is aimed at highlighting groundbreaking contributions by companies in achieving ambitious UN climate objectives, and thereby promoting greater commitment in a wide range of markets.