News
Taco Bell Offers 10 Million Free Tacos
February 9, 2011 3:53 am | CommentsIRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Taco Bell will offer Facebook fans a free taco as it tries to recover from a lawsuit questioning the content of its taco filling. The company was recently thrust into the spotlight when a lawsuit claimed that the restaurant's seasoned beef filling did not have enough beef in them to be billed as such.
Flowers Foods Squeezed By Escalating Costs
February 9, 2011 3:49 am | CommentsTHOMASVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Shares of Flowers Foods Inc. fell Monday after the maker of packaged bakery goods said its fourth-quarter results missed Wall Street expectations, and it offered a tempered earnings outlook for the current year. Flowers, like other food companies, is dealing with rising costs for ingredients as shoppers cut back on spending.
Sara Lee To Raise Prices
February 9, 2011 3:47 am | CommentsPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Sara Lee Corp. will raise prices further to cope with higher ingredient costs that squeezed its profit margins in its second quarter. Sara Lee, like many packaged food makers, is struggling with higher prices for ingredients such as coffee beans, meat and wheat.
Coca-Cola 4Q Income More Than Triples
February 9, 2011 3:45 am | CommentsATLANTA (AP) — Coca-Cola Co.'s fourth-quarter net income more than tripled, helped by the acquisition of a bottler and selling more drinks in North America. It was the third consecutive quarter of rising sales in the birthplace of the world's largest drink maker. It had been relying on emerging markets such as China and India for growth as weakened consumer spending and increased interest in healthier drinks sapped soda demand in developed markets.
Photo Of The Day: Recipe For A Shipwrecked Brew
February 9, 2011 3:36 am | Comments(AP) —A bottle of beer that was retrieved from a shipwreck in the Åland archipelago in the summer of 2010, is photographed at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in Espoo, Finland, Tuesday Feb. 8, 2011. Divers retrieved more than 160 bottles of champagne and five bottles of beer from the wreck of a ship that likely sank during the first half of 1800s.
Photo Of The Day: Coca-Cola Drinks Up Earnings
February 9, 2011 3:14 am | Comments(AP) — In this Nov. 20, 2010 photo, cans of Coca-Cola Zero are shown at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead. Fla. Coca-Cola Co.’s fourth-quarter net income more than tripled Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, helped by an acquisition and volume growth in developed countries. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Imperial Sugar Posts $8.
SoCal Company Recalls 3,170 Pounds Of Ground Beef
February 8, 2011 3:47 am | CommentsPICO RIVERA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California meat producer has recalled 3,170 pounds of ground beef that might be contaminated with E. coli. U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service spokesman Richard McIntire said Monday that no illnesses have been reported from the bulk ground beef and patties sold by Pico Rivera-based American Food Service.
Imperial Sugar Posts $8.9M Loss
February 8, 2011 3:44 am | CommentsImperial Sugar Co. said Monday it slid to a bigger-than-expected loss in the last three months of the year compared with a year-ago period that benefited from a hefty insurance claims settlement. The refined sugar processor, which markets sugar under the Imperial, Dixie Crystals and Holly brands, posted a loss of $8.
Rising Cocoa, Sugar Prices Could Affect Upcoming Holidays
February 8, 2011 3:41 am | CommentsCupid got off easy this Valentine's Day, but spikes in cocoa bean and sugar prices may have the Easter bunny digging deeper into your pocket for those chocolate eggs and rabbits. Chocolate prices are going up, but Valentine's chocolates are mostly already on shelves with prices set. It's possible high-quality Valentine's products could cost a little more, but by Easter prices likely will rise, possibly by as much as 5 percent, said Marcia Mogelonsky, U.
Is Obama's Anti-Obesity Campaign Working?
February 8, 2011 3:37 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama had doubts about making a campaign against childhood obesity one of her signature issues. "I wondered to myself whether we could really make a difference, because when you take on a problem this big and this complicated, at times it can be a little overwhelming," she said in a recent speech.
Sara Lee's 2Q Income More Than Doubles
February 8, 2011 3:30 am | CommentsDOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (AP) — Higher costs for ingredients squeezed Sara Lee Corp. in its second quarter, though net income more than doubled on the sale of part of its household and body care operations. The maker of Jimmy Dean sausage and Ball Park hot dogs, which said last month it plans to split into two public companies, said Tuesday that its adjusted earnings fell to 24 cents per share from 27 cents, hurt by higher costs for coffee and meat.
Photo Of The Day: Cold-Hearted Cocoa Prices
February 8, 2011 3:27 am | Comments(AP) — This Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011 photo shows Emily Jones as she decorates chocolate hearts at the Lake Champlain Chocolates factory in Burlington, Vt. Cocoa bean and sugar prices are going up, but industry observers say it’s unlikely it will cost more to buy sweets for your sweet this Valentine’s.
USDA: Farmers Can Plant GM Sugar Beets
February 7, 2011 4:03 am | CommentsDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Genetically modified sugar beets designed to withstand the weedkiller Roundup can be planted under strict conditions with no threat to the environment and other plants, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday in a decision anxiously awaited by farmers. The agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it would partially deregulate so-called Roundup Ready beets, letting farmers plant them while it finished work on a full environmental impact statement.
Wis. Brewer Seeks Eco-Friendly Recognition
February 7, 2011 4:00 am | CommentsAMHERST, Wis. (AP) — When Central Waters Brewing Co. moved to its new facility in 2007 in Amherst, environmental concerns were on the owners' minds. But a little recognition never hurts. Central Waters, 351 Allen St., is applying for Tier 1 status with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Gulf Seafood Gets Boost From Military
February 7, 2011 3:56 am | CommentsNEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sales of Gulf of Mexico seafood are getting a boost from the military after being hammered by last year's BP oil spill, which left consumers fearing the water's bounty had been tainted. Ten products including fish, shrimp, oysters, crab cakes, and packaged Cajun dishes such as jambalaya and shrimp etouffee are being promoted at 72 base commissaries along the East Coast, said Milt Ackerman, president of Military Solutions Inc.
Chavez Backs Workers In Coca-Cola Strike
February 7, 2011 3:54 am | CommentsCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is backing workers in a labor dispute with Coca-Cola's bottler in the country, saying Friday that Venezuelans can live without the American soft drink. The leftist leader raised the issue during a televised speech to supporters when he spotted a sign in the crowd denouncing "exploitation" by Coca-Cola.
Man Creates Biodegradable Plastic Bottles
February 7, 2011 3:50 am | CommentsPHOENIX (AP) — All Danny Clark wanted was to leave an eco-friendly footprint for his children. That and to ride the new wave of "green business" startups by coming up with a way to make money and help the environment at the same time. His idea was simple: If he could make plastic water bottles biodegradable, it would reduce the impact on landfills, curb roadside litter and reduce the amount of plastic garbage that eventually washes into the oceans.
Photo Of The Day: Activists Confront Japanese Whalers
February 7, 2011 3:44 am | Comments(AP) — In this photo released by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru No. 3 approaches the Sea Shepherd's high-speed trimaran Gojira during their encounter Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, in Southern Ocean, Antarctica. The anti-whaling activists was chasing the fleet in the hopes of interrupting Japan's annual whale hunt.
Cargill To Invest $210M In Brazilian Plant
February 4, 2011 3:44 am | CommentsSAO PAULO (AP) — Cargill plans to build a corn processing plant in Brazil to produce starches and sweeteners, building on its investments in the South American country, which is becoming a magnet for agribusiness investment. Cargill plans to invest 350 million Brazilian reals ($210 million) to build the plant.
Yum Brands Faces Challenges In China, U.S.
February 4, 2011 3:41 am | CommentsLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Though it is craving a repeat of its 2010 performance, the owner of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC chains is facing distasteful developments: inflation in China and a lawsuit challenging a staple ingredient at Taco Bell. Yum Brands Inc. executives said on a conference call with investors Thursday that they're bracing for commodity and wage inflation in the company's fast-growing China operation, its most profitable.
