News
Beer Production Bubbling For Olympics
February 1, 2010 5:07 am | CommentsVANCOUVER — How well Kerry Scarsbrook has prepared for the 2010 Olympics won't be discussed on the sports pages, but it could affect the Games all the same. He's the man in charge of making the official beer. "All I can think about all the time now is the Games," said Scarsbrook, Vancouver brewmaster for Molson Coors, the official 2010 supplier of beer.
Animal Treatment Laws Up For Review
February 1, 2010 5:07 am | CommentsSIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota's laws governing the treatment of livestock and work animals will come under review this year, and changes could be made during the 2011 legislative session. The state's laws are written broadly. They prohibit inflicting unnecessary and unjustifiable pain and suffering on animals, but they hold the standard of care to be generally accepted practices in agriculture.
Man Dies After Fall At Meat-Processing Plant
February 1, 2010 5:06 am | CommentsNEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) — A worker at a meat-processing plant in southeastern Nebraska has died following a fall. The Otoe County Attorney's Office identified the Excel Specialty Products employee as 49-year-old Timothy Wilson of Nebraska City. Police and rescue crews were called to the Nebraska City plant about 4 a.
Iowa Official Urges State Not To Buy Meatpacking Plant
February 1, 2010 5:05 am | CommentsJOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said Friday he's willing to talk to other government officials about a soon-to-be-shuttered Sioux City meatpacking plant but private industry will have the final say on its future. The John Morrell and Co. plant announced last week it would close this spring, eliminating more than 1,400 jobs.
Pilgrim's Pride Pays More Than $1M In Back Wages
February 1, 2010 5:05 am | CommentsDALLAS (AP) — The U.S. Labor Department has announced that it's recovering more than $1 million in overtime back wages from poultry processor Pilgrim's Pride Corp. In a statement issued Friday, the department said the back wages are owed to 798 former and current workers at the Pittsburg, Texas-based company's Dallas processing plant.
Seasonal Kettle Corn Goes Year-Round
February 1, 2010 5:04 am | CommentsGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Dorothy & Toto's Gourmet Kettle Corn, an addicting treat once found only at local farmer's markets, is now available year-round. Kyle Behm, 24, has taken his snowbird grandparents' seasonal business into a storefront in the building that also houses Weatherhead & Sons.
SC Senators Target Healthier School Meals
January 29, 2010 3:46 am | CommentsSeanna Adcox, AP A bill barring honey buns, pizza and chocolate bars from being sold to students during the school day has received tentative approval, but opponents are already lining up. The legislation, approved by a South Carolina Senate Education panel, is aimed at curbing childhood obesity in a state where one in three teens are overweight or obese, and waistlines are continuing to grow.
Minnesota Food Company Now Safe
January 29, 2010 3:33 am | CommentsCoon Rapids, MN (AP) — State health inspectors have declared the operations of Coon Rapids food maker Parkers Farm safe, weeks after it recalled its cheese and peanut products. It remains unclear whether the company will be fined for violating health regulations and allowing a potentially deadly bacteria strain to contaminate the production plant.
SPAM Champ Crowned
January 29, 2010 3:21 am | CommentsPRNewswire – Stacy Slagor of San Diego, a first time cooking competitor, has won the “Great American SPAM Championship,” an annual recipe contest at state and county fairs across the country. Her Fusion Fajitas feature sauteed SPAM Classic, red bell peppers and onions wrapped in tortillas with a sweet and spicy pineapple salsa.
Anheuser-Busch Helps SD Storm Victims
January 29, 2010 3:14 am | Comments(AP) — Anheuser-Busch is providing 1,764 cases of drinking water for South Dakota residents affected by recent freezing rain and snow storms that have left thousands without water and electricity. A truckload of donated water left the company's brewery in Fairfield, CA yesterday. Following a 1,500-mile trip , the water is scheduled to arrive Sunday morning.
Pork Better Than Viagra?
January 29, 2010 3:02 am | Comments(AP) — Argentina's president thinks eating pig meat is really sexy. Many people in this beef-loving nation reacted with surprise yesterday when Cristina Fernandez promoted pork in a speech during which she not only said pork is better than Viagra, but suggested she's personally proven it. “I didn't know that eating pork improved sexual activity,” Fernandez said in a meeting with representatives of the swine industry late Wednesday.
Heineken Plant Faces Worker Retaliation Over Cuts
January 29, 2010 2:32 am | CommentsUntitled Document January 29, 2010 (Reuters) Workers at a Belgian unit of Dutch brewer Heineken blocked the entrance to a plant in northeast Belgium yesterday in protest against planned job cuts, union officials said. The Alken-Maes brewery wants to cut 43 of some 230 jobs at the plant.
Nestle Targets Hershey Acquistion
January 27, 2010 5:15 am | CommentsLONDON (Reuters) — Swiss food group Nestle is likely to set a long-term goal of buying Hershey after the Kraft-Cadbury deal, hoping that market pressures will wear down opposition from the controlling Hershey Trust. Nestle, the world's largest food group is set to drop to No. 3 in the chocolate world behind Mars-Wrigley and Kraft-Cadbury, an unfamiliar role for a company that holds No.
Carlsberg Brewing Strike Short-Lived
January 27, 2010 4:42 am | CommentsCOPENHAGEN (Reuters) — Carlsberg, the world's fourth-biggest brewery, said a strike among its brewery workers and drivers in Denmark ended late on Sunday and beer brewing had resumed. Around 600 of the workers went on strike on Friday over pay, halting Carlsberg's beer production in Denmark.
Canada's Food Safety Lags Behind U.S.
January 27, 2010 4:30 am | CommentsPORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Northeast fisheries regulators are meeting to reconsider sharp, new scallop catch restrictions that have been vigorously protested by the fleet. The New England Fishery Management Council initially refused to reconsider the new rules, which include cutting annual fishing days from 37 to 29.
Wooden Pallet Use Under Fire In Food Transport, Storage
January 27, 2010 4:16 am | CommentsORLANDO, FL (PRNewswire) — In the fifth of a series of independent tests, wood shipping pallets that transport food were discovered carrying E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and other pathogens that could spread illness. This evidence has caught the attention of public officials in New York, who are advancing legislation to ban the use of wood pallets for the transportation of meat and other fresh foods.
Honeybee Colonies Fighting Back
January 27, 2010 3:57 am | CommentsSTATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Fewer beekeepers are reporting evidence of a mysterious ailment that had been decimating the U.S. honeybee population. But losses due to a colony collapse disorder remain high enough to keep beekeepers on edge. Stresses on bees such as starvation and poor weather are also adding to the burden.
Northeast Scalloper Cuts Reconsidered
January 27, 2010 3:41 am | CommentsPORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Northeast fisheries regulators are meeting to reconsider sharp, new scallop catch restrictions that have been vigorously protested by the fleet. The New England Fishery Management Council initially refused to reconsider the new rules, which include cutting annual fishing days from 37 to 29.
EPA Partners Boost Green Power Usage
January 26, 2010 4:33 am | CommentsWASHINGTON D.C.(EPA) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top 10 Green Power Partners increased their voluntary green power commitments by more than 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2009, while 300 new organizations joined the Green Power Partnership. Overall, the 1,200 partners are buying nearly 18 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from electricity use of more than 1.
'Convenience Consumers' Explain Food Choices
January 26, 2010 4:31 am | CommentsCHICAGO (BUSINESS WIRE) — As straightforward as the concept of convenience may seem, it is more complicated to define when it comes to Americans making food choices, according to a recent study by The NPD Group, a leading market research company. In its latest food and beverage market research, NPD finds that 72 million adult consumers-nearly one in three adults-are "Convenience Consumers," but their needs are varied depending on their life stage and other characteristics.
