A new year is often a time of reflection, and many people make New Year’s Resolutions, which they may or may not keep, with varying degrees of success. Simply, put, they generally fall into four categories:

Start

Stop

Decrease

Increase

So here are my 2020 resolutions recommendations for our industry:

The industry should Start:

1. Improving Transparency over raw material and finished product analysis and SHARE the results at the consumer level as appropriate.
2. Brag about the labs, whether internal or external, upholding the quality of their brand.
3. Audit testing labs. No, not one of those silly forms anyone can complete, a real in-person audit.
4. Test more, and appropriately, to weed out adulteration.

The Industry should Stop:

1. The opposite of above.

The industry should Decrease:

1. Making excuses for not joining trade associations
2. Cutting corners

The industry should Increase:

1. Vigilance over accurate label claims
2. Finished product testing
3. Playfulness