News
Company Bets on Biotech Potatoes
May 14, 2013 9:40 am | by JOHN MILLER,Associated Press | CommentsThis month, tuber processing giant J.R. Simplot Co. asked the U.S. government to approve five varieties of biotech potatoes. They're engineered not to develop ugly black bruises — McDonald's, which gets many of its fries from Simplot, rejects those. They're also designed to have less of a natural but potentially cancer-causing neurotoxin, acrylamide.
Venezuela Food Maker Denies Blame for Shortages
May 14, 2013 9:38 am | by FABIOLA SANCHEZ and KARL RITTER,Associated Press | CommentsVenezuela's biggest food company on Monday hit back at President Nicolas Maduro's claims that it's to blame for the country's persistent food shortages. The chief executive of Empresas Polar, Lorenzo Mendoza, rejected accusations by the president that the company has reduced production and is hoarding products to create scarcity.
Supreme Court Rules for Monsanto in Patent Case
May 14, 2013 9:34 am | by JESSE J. HOLLAND,Associated Press | CommentsThe Supreme Court said Monday that an Indiana farmer violated Monsanto Co.'s patents on soybean seeds resistant to its weed-killer by growing the beans without buying new seeds from the corporation. The justices unanimously rejected the farmer's argument that cheap soybeans he bought from a grain elevator are not covered by the Monsanto patents.
Photo of the Day: Biotech Tubers
May 14, 2013 9:30 am | CommentsThis Friday, May 10, 2013 photo shows a genetically engineered potato poking through the soil of a planting pot inside J.R. Simplot's lab in southwestern Idaho. Simplot is seeking U.S. regulatory approval to market the potatoes — which resist browning and are designed to produce lower levels of potentially cancer-causing acrylamide when fried — to growers and, eventually, consumers.
Daily Sound Bite: Abused Iowa Workers' Award Slashed
May 13, 2013 12:36 pm | CommentsThe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Henry's Turkey Service agreed in legal briefs filed late Friday that under federal law, each plaintiff can only recover $50,000 apiece — a far cry from the $7.5 million a jury awarded each worker earlier this month. On Monday, one advocate for the men called the cap "grossly unfair."
UK Retailers Relax Rules on Modified Feed
May 13, 2013 12:32 pm | CommentsThree major British grocery chains have ended their bans on providing genetically modified feed to chickens. Sainsbury's, the Co-operative Group and Marks & Spencer cited short supplies of non-GM feed as the reason for the change. A Co-operative Group statement released Monday said it is no longer "feasible" to insist on non-GM feed.
Company Recalls Stews with Undeclared Allergens
May 13, 2013 12:30 pm | CommentsAcadian Fine Foods LLC is recalling 17,000 pounds of pork and chicken stews because labels don't list whey and soy as ingredients. Some people are allergic to those substances. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall Friday.
Falling Prices Hurt Post 2Q
May 13, 2013 12:29 pm | CommentsCereal maker Post Holdings' fiscal second-quarter net income fell 59 percent as it paid more in interest and its prices dropped. Its quarterly performance missed analysts' expectations. Shares dropped in Monday morning trading. For the period ended March 31, Post — whose cereal brands include Honey Bunches of Oats and Grape-Nuts — earned $4.3 million, or 13 cents per share.
200 Sickened After Eating at Vegas Restaurant
May 13, 2013 12:27 pm | by MICHELLE RINDELS,Associated Press | CommentsA new report shows 200 people who dined at one of Las Vegas' most popular restaurants about a block off the Strip have reported food poisoning symptoms, making it the largest outbreak southern Nevada health officials have seen in at least a decade.
$240M EEOC Verdict To Be Cut to $1.6M
May 13, 2013 12:25 pm | by RYAN J. FOLEY,Associated Press | CommentsA landmark $240 million verdict awarded to 32 mentally disabled Iowa plant workers who were subjected to years of abuse by their handlers will be reduced to just $1.6 million because of a federal cap, attorneys in the case agree. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Henry's Turkey Service agreed in legal briefs filed late Friday that under federal law, each plaintiff can only recover $50,000 apiece.
Consumer Trends: Celebrating National Egg Month
May 13, 2013 12:00 pm | CommentsIn honor of National Egg Month this May, Safest Choice™ Eggs is partnering with popular cookbook author and founder of Weelicious.com, Catherine McCord, to encourage families to cook wholesome, healthy meals together and ‘Make the Safest Choice’ while doing so.
Starbucks Sees Myanmar Entry in Coming Years
May 13, 2013 9:39 am | by PAMELA SAMPSON,AP Business Writer | CommentsStarbucks CEO Howard Schultz said Monday the coffee chain's first stores in India and Vietnam have been received positively and it might soon be time to give Myanmar a shot too. "Within the next couple of years, I'd say," said Schultz of plans to enter Myanmar. His visit to Bangkok this week coincides with the coffee giant's 15 year anniversary of opening in Thailand.
NCBA Says EPA Releasing Producers’ Personal Information
May 13, 2013 9:37 am | CommentsThe National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) says it is appalled to learn that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to illegally release information on cattle operations to the activist groups Earth Justice, the Pew Charitable Trust and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
U.S. Winter Wheat Production Forecast Down
May 13, 2013 9:34 am | by ROXANA HEGEMAN,Associated Press | CommentsIn the first government projection on the harvest's anticipated size, the National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated winter wheat production will be down 10 percent to 1.49 billion bushels, due to fewer acres — 32.7 million acres, some 6 percent fewer acres than a year ago — and a 1.8-bushel decrease in average yields, to 45.4 bushels per acre.
Conn. Craft Brewers Launch Promo Campaign
May 13, 2013 9:33 am | by STEPHEN KALIN,Associated Press | CommentsWithout the advertising budgets of the big domestic beer companies, microbrewers rely on grass-roots marketing and face-to-face interactions to promote their products. Through a new "Brew and Buy Local" campaign, Connecticut beer manufacturers, distributors and retailers are highlighting the state's growing craft beer industry and encouraging consumers to buy locally-produced brews.
UN: Eat More Insects
May 13, 2013 9:31 am | by FRANCES D'EMILIO,Associated Press | CommentsThe U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. The Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world as an underutilized food for people, livestock and pets.
Photo of the Day: A Worrying Wheat Forecast
May 13, 2013 9:29 am | CommentsIn this May 1, 2013, photo Kansas farmer Ben McClure, a farmer from Hugoton, Kan., examines a wheat stalk in a Reno County wheat field. The Agriculture Department Friday, May 10, 2013, forecast U.S. farmers will harvest a far smaller winter wheat crop this season than a year ago, particularly for the hard red varieties used to bake bread.
TreeHouse Foods 1Q Profit Up
May 10, 2013 12:33 pm | CommentsTreeHouse Foods Inc. reported a 4 percent increase in its first-quarter net income as the food maker's revenue improved on recent acquisitions. The Oak Brook, Ill., company, which makes a number of products including non-dairy powdered creamers, private-label canned soups and salad dressings, also backed its full-year forecast.
Whole Foods Mixes Up Chicken, Vegan Salads
May 10, 2013 12:32 pm | CommentsThe mislabeled salads — a curried chicken salad and a vegan curried "chick'n" salad — were sold in 15 stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, Whole Foods said. In some locations, the company said the salads were sold in the cold food bars where customers can scoop food into containers, which are then weighed at the register.
Vt. House Approves GMO Labeling Bill
May 10, 2013 12:30 pm | CommentsThe Vermont House has approved legislation calling for labeling of food products containing genetically modified organisms. Thursday's vote came after the House spent most of the day debating a measure that will not see final action this year because the Senate lacks time to take it up.
