News
Humane Society Claims Pigs Abused At Smithfield Farm
December 17, 2010 3:31 am | CommentsRICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Humane Society of the United States said Wednesday that an undercover worker at a farm owned by the world's largest pork producer saw breeding pigs abused and crammed into small gestation crates. The animal welfare organization released the results of a monthlong undercover investigation at a Waverly, Va.
$90M Beef Plant Planned In North Dakota
December 17, 2010 3:28 am | CommentsBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Korean investors and North Dakota cattle ranchers plan a $90 million beef plant in the state that could process about 1,200 animals each day for overseas and domestic markets. The Kim and Price Corp. plant would export about 60 percent of its beef to South Korea and sell the rest in the U.
Meat Processor Gets Pollution Penalty
December 17, 2010 3:26 am | CommentsST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A western Minnesota meat processing plant has been given a $20,000 civil penalty for discharges of blood- and manure-contaminated water. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said Wednesday it has reached an agreement with Noah's Ark Processors. The agreement resolves alleged violations of water quality laws and rules at the company's meat processing plant and animal hide storage building in Dawson.
Dannon To Pay $21M For Unapproved Health Claims
December 17, 2010 3:22 am | CommentsPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Dannon Co. Inc. has agreed pay $21 million over health claims made for its Activia yogurt and DanActive dairy drink in settlements with state and federal regulators. The food company has claimed that beneficial bacteria in its Activia yogurt helps relieve irregularity and that its DanActive drink boosts immunity.
CDC Lowers Foodborne Illness Estimates
December 17, 2010 3:18 am | CommentsAbout 48 million people (1 in 6 Americans) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases, according new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures are the most accurate to date due to better data and methods used. The data are published Wednesday in two articles in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases .
Photo Of The Day: What Goes On Down On The Farm?
December 16, 2010 9:39 am | Comments(AP) — Humane Society of the United States spokesperson, Paul Shapiro, speaks during a press conference in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010. The Humane Society says it has found what it called " unacceptable and systemic abuses " of female breeding pigs at a Virginia factory farm owned by a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods.
Photo Of The Day: Lower Sales = Lower Temperatures
December 15, 2010 4:04 am | Comments(AP) — Employees of the Just Born candy company — which makes Peeps, Mike and Ike’s and other popular candies — are enjoying chilly Fargo, N.D., instead of balmy Hawaii after corporate sales goals weren’t met. Two dozen workers, who are in town for meetings, received fleece jackets and bomber hats.
CEOs Plan To Add Workers
December 15, 2010 3:53 am | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) -- More top corporate executives expect to hire workers and boost spending on their companies over the next six months. A survey released Tuesday by Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of big U.S. companies, shows 45 percent of executives say they expect their companies to add more workers.
Dairy Snacks Market Driven By Health, Convenience
December 15, 2010 3:49 am | CommentsThe international market for dairy snacks, such as cheese strings and yogurt tubes, grew by 7% in 2009 and is heading for a 6% rise this year. The first major study on this sector, by leading food and drink consultancy Zenith International, estimates total volume at 217,000 tonnes in 2010 across 26 countries in North America, Latin America, West Europe, East Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
Helicopters Used To Rescue Crop From Rare Freeze
December 15, 2010 3:45 am | CommentsST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Dozens of helicopters whir above Florida's valuable and sensitive veggie crops, sent up by farmers worried that an uncommon freeze could wipe out their harvests. The choppers hover low over green bean and sweet corn fields, moving back and forth in the early morning hours to push warmer air closer to the plants — and, the farmers hope, save the plants from a deadly frost.
Iowa Warns Against Online Bootlegging
December 15, 2010 3:40 am | CommentsDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Templeton Rye whiskey, which can be hard to find in some Iowa shops, has been showing up on Internet sales sites in violation of Iowa laws against bootlegging. The Des Moines Register reported that on Monday, a half-dozen or more people had listed the booze on eBay and Craigslist, asking up to $100 a bottle for whiskey that typically sells for $36 a bottle.
Winemakers To Introduce Artificial Ice Wines
December 15, 2010 3:34 am | CommentsPRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. (AP) — Ice wine, made from grapes that were allowed to freeze on the vine, has long been one of the most expensive dessert drinks because of the risk involved in its production. Winemakers must harvest the grapes under precisely the right weather conditions and extract the high-sugar juice before they thaw.
U.S. Marshals Seize Chili Products In Infested Warehouse
December 14, 2010 3:54 am | Comments(FDA)--U.S. Marshals, acting under a court order sought by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, today seized chili pods, ground chili, crushed chili, and other chili products located in the rodent-infested food warehouse owned by Duran and Sons LLC in Derry, New Mexico. The New Mexico Environment Department had previously placed an embargo on all products in the company’s food warehouse on Nov.
Group Looks To Make Ethanol From Sugar Beets
December 14, 2010 3:50 am | CommentsFARGO, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota group is planning to build a test plant that would turn sugar beets into ethanol. Officials with Fargo-based Green Vision Group say the demonstration facility would be built alongside an existing ethanol plant and would cost between $4 million and $6 million.
McDonald's Customer Database Hacked
December 14, 2010 3:47 am | CommentsPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — McDonald's Corp. says some of its customers' private information was exposed during a data breach. The company said Monday that a third party was able to get past security measures and see into a database of its customer information that included e-mail, phone numbers, addresses, birthdates and other specifics that they provided when signing up for online promotions or other subscriptions to its websites.
Company Makes 4 Billion Straws A Year Despite Challenges
December 14, 2010 3:42 am | CommentsRICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Among the many modern comforts we all enjoy, the humble drinking straw perhaps gets too little attention. Few people — when they pop a straw into a carton of juice or milk — think about the source of that deceptively simple piece of plastic, or what it takes to make one.
Thermo Fisher To Buy Dionex For $2.1B
December 14, 2010 3:36 am | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. said Monday it will buy laboratory equipment maker Dionex Corp. for $2.1 billion. The scientific instrument maker said the deal will expand its business in the Asia-Pacific region and help it do more business in industries such as environmental analysis, water testing, and food safety.
Hershey's Kisses Ranks Highest In Brand Equity
December 13, 2010 4:12 am | Comments(HARRIS)--Leading global market research firm Harris Interactive today released the 2010 results of EquiTrend®, its renowned annual brand equity study that measures over 1,000 brands across 42 categories. Harris Interactive has been tracking consumers' awareness and perception of brands for over 20 years.
Stricter Testing May Not Lead To Safer Meat
December 13, 2010 4:09 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (NAS) — A new National Research Council report finds no scientific basis that more stringent testing of meat purchased through the government's ground beef purchase program and distributed to various federal food and nutrition programs -- including the National School Lunch Program -- would lead to safer meat.
