News
Mead Johnson 1Q Profit Rises
April 26, 2013 9:34 am | CommentsMead Johnson's first-quarter earnings climbed 5 percent, as higher prices for the infant formula maker's products in Latin America and part of Asia countered a drop in volume from North America and Europe. The Glenview, Ill., company also said Thursday that it was reaffirming its forecast for 2013 earnings to range between $3.22 and $3.30 per share.
Sustainability Awards Honor Dairy Businesses
April 26, 2013 9:33 am | Comments“This year’s winners include dairy farms and businesses from across the country who took steps to reduce their environmental impact, improve their profitability and increase their contribution to a sustainable 21st century food system,” said Molly Jahn, professor of genetics and agronomy at University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the awards’ judges panel.
Hershey Profit Rises on Increasing Sales
April 26, 2013 9:28 am | CommentsHershey says its net income rose in the first quarter as it sold more of its namesake chocolates and benefited from lower costs for ingredients. The company, which makes Kit Kat, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Twizzlers, said that cost-cutting initiatives also improved its profit margins for the period and raised its outlook for the year.
Hostess To Reopen Kan. Bakery This Summer
April 26, 2013 9:26 am | CommentsHostess Brands LLC says it will reopen its eastern Kansas bakery this summer, with the hiring of an initial 250 people already underway. The announcement was made Thursday by the investment partnership that bought Hostess Brands' snack cake product lines.
Photo of the Day: Dairy Sustainability Awards
April 26, 2013 9:22 am | CommentsThe Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® announced the winners of the second annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards on April 23 at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C. The program recognizes dairy farms and businesses of all sizes for practices that advance the industry’s commitment to healthy products, healthy communities and a healthy planet.
Daily Sound Bite: Yum Expects KFC to Recover in China
April 25, 2013 12:39 pm | CommentsAfter a one-two punch, Yum says it expects sales to recover by year end. A new strain of avian flu has hurt sales as Chinese consumers shy away from poultry products. This comes on the heels of a discovery that the company's poultry suppliers in the country were using unapproved levels of antibiotics.
Shareholder Renews Split-Up Suggestion for Smithfield
April 25, 2013 12:25 pm | CommentsThe second-largest shareholder for Smithfield Foods Inc. is reiterating that the world's largest pork producer should consider splitting up the company. Continental Grain Co. on Thursday filed a presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission furthering its recommendation outlined in a letter to the company's board last month.
Conn. House Votes To Allow Beer in Pouches
April 25, 2013 12:23 pm | CommentsA bill that would allow malt beverages, including beer, to be sold in Connecticut in pliable pouches is moving through the General Assembly. The House of Representatives voted 120-25 on Wednesday in favor of the legislation. The bill now awaits action in the Senate.
NM Faces Tough Choices as Drought Persists
April 25, 2013 12:21 pm | by SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN,Associated Press | CommentsIn southern New Mexico, the mighty Rio Grande has gone dry — reduced to a sandy wash winding from this chile farming community to the nation's leading pecan-producing county. Across the state's eastern plains, wells stand empty and ranchers are selling their cattle. In the north, urbanites face watering restrictions while rural residents see the levels of their springs dropping more every day.
Hershey Reshuffles Management
April 25, 2013 12:19 pm | CommentsThe Hershey Co. said Wednesday that it has made a number of management changes to help position the candy company for better global growth. The company, based in Hershey, Pa., is the largest chocolate maker in North America, but it faces tough competition globally from companies such as Mondelez International Inc., which now owns Cadbury and is focused on growth in international markets.
Kan. Committee Considers Bonds for Biosecurity Lab
April 25, 2013 12:18 pm | by JOHN MILBURN,Associated Press | CommentsA Kansas Senate committee introduced a bill on Thursday authorizing an additional $202 million in bonds to help finance construction of a federal biosecurity lab in Manhattan. The Senate Ways and Means Committee scheduled a hearing later Thursday to hear from officials with Gov. Sam Brownback's administration about the funding request.
Consumer Trends: Flavor Trends on the Grill
April 25, 2013 12:00 pm | CommentsThis grilling report identifies the top tastes, trends and techniques that will be inspiring backyard cooks all season long. Smoke & spice pairings, grilled fruit drinks and DIY condiments are among the list of trends that will be sizzling on barbeques across the country.
Vt. Bill Would OK Direct Shipment of Craft Brews
April 25, 2013 9:33 am | by LISA RATHKE,Associated Press | CommentsIn Vermont, a hotbed of craft beer brewing, lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow brewers to ship their beer directly to consumers to expand their markets and reach their niche customers nationwide. The state already allows wineries to ship wine directly to consumers after changing the law, but beer shipments are illegal.
Yum: China Sales Should Recover by Year-End
April 25, 2013 9:31 am | CommentsThe parent company of KFC is hoping to shake fallout from the avian flu by the end of the year. Yum Brands Inc., which also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said Wednesday that it expects sales at established restaurants for its China division to turn positive by the fourth quarter.
7 Charged with Smuggling Fish Bladders to China
April 25, 2013 9:30 am | by ELLIOT SPAGAT,Associated Press | CommentsSeven people have been charged with smuggling bladders from an endangered fish in what authorities said Wednesday may be a growing international practice in which the bladders are sold for up to $20,000 each to be used in a highly desired soup.
Zimbabwe Faces Food Insecurity Crisis
April 25, 2013 9:29 am | by ANGUS SHAW,Associated Press | CommentsZimbabwe's grain reserves are running dangerously low ahead of new but poor harvests caused by erratic rain, an independent continent-wide development bank said Wednesday. The African Development Bank said the strategic reserves have become so depleted that commercial millers have been stopped from buying supplies from the state.
China: Chef Added Pesticide, Not Sauce, to Lunch
April 25, 2013 9:27 am | CommentsChina's state news agency says one person died and 20 others were sickened after a chef mistakenly added pesticide instead of a sauce as he was making lunch. Xinhua News Agency said in a brief dispatch Thursday that the chef was among those who fell ill after eating the lunch at a construction site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Photo of the Day: A Fishy Situation
April 25, 2013 9:26 am | CommentsThis March 2013 image provided by the U.S. attorney's Office shows Totoaba bladders displayed at a U.S. border crossing in downtown Calexico, Mexico. Seven people have been charged in a scheme to sell the bladders of an endangered Mexican fish considered a delicacy for use in Chinese soup, U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday.
Dr Pepper Shares Soar
April 24, 2013 12:42 pm | CommentsHigher prices helped Dr Pepper Snapple Group's net income edge up 4 percent in the first quarter. Prices and productivity improvements helped offset the company selling less of its drinks. Its results beat Wall Street expectations, and the company's shares jumped in morning trading.
More Private-Company Execs Optimistic About Economy
April 24, 2013 12:40 pm | CommentsIn the first quarter of 2013, private-company executives' optimism about the 12-month prospects for the US economy rose eight points, according to PwC US's Private Company Trendsetter Barometer . Fifty percent of executives expressed optimism, while only 11 percent were pessimistic, down from 18 percent the prior quarter.
