News
Giant Tuna Sells For $396,000
January 5, 2011 3:31 am | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — A giant bluefin tuna fetched a record 32.49 million yen, or nearly $396,000, in Tokyo on Wednesday, in the first auction of the year at the world's largest wholesale fish market. The price for the 754-pound (342-kilogram) tuna beat the previous record set in 2001 when a 445-pound (202-kilogram) fish sold for 20.
Beaverton Foods Acquires Pacific Farms
January 4, 2011 3:43 am | CommentsBEAVERTON, OR – Beaverton Foods plans to expand its presence in the wasabi food products category with the recent acquisition of Florence, OR-based Pacific Farms™. Domonic Biggi, Executive Vice President of Beaverton Foods, said the purchase of Pacific Farms was a natural fit for the 80-year-old family owned and operated manufacturer of hundreds of specialty gourmet condiments.
Brewers Association Changes Definition Of Craft Brewer
January 4, 2011 3:40 am | by Retaining Market Share for Craft Brewers | CommentsBOULDER, Colo.(BUSINESS WIRE)--The board of directors of the Brewers Association (BA), the trade association representing the majority of U.S. brewing companies, has voted to change the BA's designation of "small" in its definition of a "craft brewer." The Association's board of directors also has revised its bylaws to reflect the change.
Vermont Yogurt Factory On Target For Spring Opening
January 4, 2011 3:33 am | CommentsBRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) — Construction of what will become a new Vermont yogurt factory is on schedule for a spring opening. Benjamin Johnson of Commonwealth Dairy says the company broke ground last April at a location in Brattleboro and expects to have 25 to 30 people on its payroll by this April.
Nutrition Labels To Appear On Meat, Poultry Products
January 4, 2011 3:30 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (USDA) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced that it will be making important nutritional information readily available to consumers on 40 of the most popular cuts of meat and poultry products. Under a new rule, packages of ground or chopped meat and poultry will feature nutrition facts panels on their labels.
Obama To Sign Food Safety Bill
January 4, 2011 3:26 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — When salmonella-laced peanut products sickened hundreds during a recent scare, President Barack Obama said consumers should be able to have confidence that their government will keep peanut butter-eating children safe — and that included his daughter Sasha. "That's what Sasha eats for lunch probably three times a week," Obama said then.
Photo Of The Day: A Super Bowl Of Sausage
January 3, 2011 10:00 am | Comments(Uncle Charley's Sausage) — A worker at Uncle Charley’s Sausage manufacturing facility in Vandergrift, PA, grinds and mixes pork with special seasonings in an 11,000 pound stainless steel bowl that will blend the proprietary ingredients for the production of the company’s popular Uncle Charley’s Sausage.
Court Upholds $16.5M Beef Jerky Buyout
January 3, 2011 3:49 am | CommentsPIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota subsidiary of one of the world's largest beef jerky companies must pay a son of the company's founder more than $16.5 million for his shares of the subsidiary, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. Jay Link, a son of Wisconsin-based Link Snacks Inc.
Initiative Seeks To Stem Illegal Honey
January 3, 2011 3:44 am | CommentsFRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Honey companies and importers are launching a program in January to try to stop the flow of illegally sourced honey from coming into the country. The True Source Honey Initiative is an effort by a handful of producers and importers looking to certify the origin and purity of the honey sold to U.
E. Coli Prompts Ground Beef Recall
January 3, 2011 3:41 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — A California company is recalling approximately 34,373 pounds of organic ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, federal officials said Thursday. First Class Foods Inc. of Hawthorne reports that each package label bears the establishment number "EST.
Freeze Destroys $273M In Florida Crops
January 3, 2011 3:39 am | CommentsST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — December's wave of unusually cold weather has destroyed much of Florida's green beans and sweet corn, which means shoppers will pay more at the grocery store and see more imports on the shelves. Florida is the nation's largest producer of green beans and sweet corn — the kind of corn we eat, not the kind we put in our gas tanks.
Wine Grape Grower Fights Pesticide Drift
January 3, 2011 3:30 am | CommentsOAKLAND, Ore. (AP) — The 2010 grape harvest on Legacy Vineyards could have been worse. Considering the wet spring, cool summer and late harvest marred by the arrival of hundreds of hungry migrating birds, the 6 tons of tempranillo grapes and 3 tons of pinot noir were a respectable take. But the best news for wine growers Kevin and Karen Kohlman was this: Their vines did not get hit this season by pesticides drifting onto their property from surrounding private industrial forestlands.
Photo Of The Day: From Soggy Soy Noodle To Tofu
December 29, 2010 5:41 am | Comments(AP) — This Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 photo shows Arturo Cordoba as he hangs up a soy noodle crepe while working on a yuba line at the Hodo Soy Beanery in Oakland, Calif. In Hodo Soy’s 12,000-square-foot factory, organically grown soy beans are soaked, ground and boiled creating a rich soy milk to which the natural coagulant calcium sulfate is added.
Starbucks: Kraft Not Meeting Expectations
December 29, 2010 5:33 am | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — A Kraft Foods executive acknowledged to Starbucks' CEO nearly a year ago that Kraft had "neglected" their relationship, but the food maker still wants a court to force the coffee chain to pay for ending the distribution pact. Responding to that request, Starbucks said in a filing late Monday with the U.
SD Beef Plant To Get State Financing
December 29, 2010 5:32 am | CommentsABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — Officials announced Tuesday that a long-delayed beef packing plant near Aberdeen will get state financing. The Aberdeen American News reports that state aid will help pay for construction at the Northern Beef Packers plant. Construction has started again at the plant after years of delays since the project first started in 2005.
Attorney: Food Safety Legislation Balances Interests Of Consumers, Manufacturers
December 29, 2010 5:30 am | CommentsHARTFORD, Conn. (PRNewswire) — The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, expected to be signed into law shortly by President Barack Obama, will set the bar higher for food manufacturers, processors and importers, as well as retailers of private label products, according to attorney Janice Lai, a partner in LeClairRyan's Hartford office.
U.S. Bison Ranchers Struggle To Meet Consumer Demand
December 29, 2010 5:29 am | CommentsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The deep snow blanketing the Midwest prairie didn't bother the bison on Ed Eichten's ranch one bit. The hardy animals evolved to survive — even thrive — year-round on the open range, and with their big heads, they can plow right through drifts 5-feet tall or more.
Frito Lay Makes "All Natural" Snacks Push
December 28, 2010 8:48 am | CommentsPLANO, Texas (AP) — PepsiCo Inc.'s Frito-Lay North America snack division said Tuesday that by the end of 2011 about half of its snacks, including Lay's potato chips, Tostitos tortilla chips and SunChips, will be reformulated to contain only natural ingredients as it seeks to attract customers looking for healthier eats.
NC Man Pummeled By Escaped Bull Dies
December 28, 2010 8:46 am | CommentsFAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — An elderly North Carolina man battered by an angry bull that escaped from its pasture has died, and the animal is headed to a slaughterhouse. Ricky House of Spring Lake said Tuesday that his 82-year-old father John A. House died last week after life-support machines were removed.
Drink Of Vikings Comes Out Of Dark Ages
December 28, 2010 8:45 am | CommentsPITTSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Mead, that drink of viking saga and medieval verse, is making a comeback. But this ain't your ancestors' honey wine. "It's not just for the Renaissance fair anymore," says Becky Starr, co-owner of Starrlight Mead, which recently opened in an old woven label mill in this little North Carolina town.
