News
Consumer Trends: Flavored Milk To Spur Dairy Industry Growth
June 11, 2013 12:00 pm | CommentsNew research from Tetra Pak forecasts that flavored milk consumption will grow at more than double the rate of white milk globally between 2012 and 2015. Consumers are increasingly turning to tasty, nutritious and conveniently packaged flavored milk as an alternative to other beverages, creating opportunities for dairies to improve profitability.
Pa. Liquor Privatization Hits Wholesale Snag
June 11, 2013 9:46 am | by MARC LEVY,Associated Press | CommentsWhat may end up derailing the Republicans' drive to privatize Pennsylvania's sale of wine and liquor is not who gets to sell it — but who gets to deliver it. Both a four-month-old plan by Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, and a bill that passed the GOP-controlled House in March would dismantle the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's less-seen but lucrative business of buying and delivering wine and liquor.
Dominican Official Denies Report of Bird Flu
June 11, 2013 9:44 am | by EZEQUIEL ABIU LOPEZ,Associated Press | CommentsA Dominican official says Haiti erroneously reported that his country has an outbreak of avian flu when it cited the disease as a reason for imposing a ban this week on the import of Dominican meats, chicken, eggs and other goods. Dominican Ambassador in Haiti Ruben Silie said in a statement on Friday that there's no evidence of bird flu in the country, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
China May Approve Monsanto’s Modified Soybeans
June 11, 2013 9:43 am | CommentsAfter meeting with China's agriculture minister, several analysts said China's agriculture minister Han Changfu indicated he would approve Monsanto's Intacta soybeans for importation. China is hosting a summit on agriculture and food. The U.S. is not attending but Brazil and Argentina are. China has made no official announcement. Monsanto declined to comment.
Senate Passes Farm Bill
June 11, 2013 9:41 am | by MARY CLARE JALONICK,Associated Press | CommentsConservatives calling for an overhaul of the domestic food aid program will try to trim the nation's nearly $80 billion grocery bill when the House weighs in on farm legislation in a few weeks. The Senate overwhelmingly voted Monday to expand farm subsidies and make small cuts to food stamps in a five-year, half-trillion dollar measure. But passage in the House isn't expected to be so easy — or so bipartisan.
Dole CEO Makes Buyout Bid
June 11, 2013 9:39 am | CommentsDole Food's Chairman and CEO David Murdock and his family are offering to buy the business with a bid that values the entire company at approximately $1.07 billion. Shares of the fresh fruit and vegetable company jumped in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Photo of the Day: Company Debuts New Mandarins
June 11, 2013 9:36 am | CommentsParamount Citrus plans the largest marketing campaign in the history of U.S. citrus industry to promote "pure goodness" of sweet, seedless mandarins. Wonderful Halos will be available in the produce aisles of grocery, mass and club stores this fall.
Smucker Nominates Ex-Kent State Dean to Board
June 10, 2013 12:31 pm | CommentsJam maker J.M. Smucker Co. said Monday that it will nominate Robert B. Heisler Jr., a retired dean of the College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management at Kent State University in Ohio, to its board. Heisler was chosen due to his experience in the investment management and financial services area, as well as his experience as director for other public companies, J.M. Smucker said.
Schwan Closing Two SD Facilities, Opening One
June 10, 2013 12:30 pm | CommentsThe Minnesota-based Schwan Food Company is closing distribution centers in Oakes, N.D., and Faulkton, S.D., and building a facility in the South Dakota city of Aberdeen. The move is aimed at increasing efficiency. The 7,000-square-foot Aberdeen facility is to be completed in the fall at a cost of more than $1 million, company spokesman Chuck Blomberg told the American News.
Cheap Eats Boost McDonald’s Sales
June 10, 2013 12:28 pm | CommentsCheap eats and new menu items helped McDonald's boost a key sales figure in May, bouncing back from a decline the previous month. The world's biggest hamburger chain said Monday that global sales rose 2.6 percent at restaurants open at least a year, helped by an extra Friday in the month. In the U.S., the figure rose 2.4 percent, as the Dollar Menu and its new chicken wraps and egg white breakfast sandwiches lifted results.
Venezuelan President Halts Restricted Food Sale Plan
June 10, 2013 12:26 pm | by JORGE RUEDA,Associated Press | CommentsPresident Nicolas Maduro said Saturday that he has put a halt to a plan to restrict sales of 20 basic food products in Venezuela's most populous state, a scheme critics had deemed rationing in disguise. Officials in western Zulia state had said the plan to limit sales of items such as cooking oil, flour, chicken and toilet paper — all of which are subject to price controls — could begin as early as Monday at 65 supermarkets.
Canada Threatens Tariff Against U.S. Products
June 10, 2013 12:24 pm | CommentsCanada warned Friday that it may impose tariffs on everything from orange juice to bread if the United States doesn't change a meat-labeling policy that Canadian beef and pork industries say is costing them more than CA$1 billion (US$979 million) a year.
Consumer Trends: Healthier Foods Driving Industry Growth
June 10, 2013 12:00 pm | CommentsLower-calorie products are driving a disproportionate share of the sales growth for many of the U.S.'s largest food and beverage companies, according to a newly released Hudson Institute study, Lower-Calorie Foods and Beverages Drive Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation Companies' Sales Growth.
Daily Sound Bite: Philly Prison Food Now Available for Sale
June 10, 2013 11:43 am | CommentsPhiladelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary has opened a new tourist attraction. The event will give visitors a chance to sample prison food from across the centuries and to learn about the politics, social movements and culinary influences that have come together to impact what prisoners eat.
3G Shuffles CEOs on Completion of Heinz Deal
June 10, 2013 9:44 am | CommentsWith the completion of the deal, 3G is shifting one of its partners from the helm of Burger King to head Heinz. Bernardo Hees, 43, is taking the reins from William Johnson, who was the seventh CEO of the 144-year-old company for the past 15 years.
McDonald’s To Serve Breakfast to Night Owls
June 10, 2013 9:43 am | by CANDICE CHOI,AP Food Industry Writer | CommentsStarting this month, the fast-food chain says participating 24-hour restaurants in select locations will offer an "After Midnight" menu that includes its Egg McMuffin, Big Mac and Chicken McNuggets. Customers will be able to create "Midnight Value Meals," with either fries or hash browns as their side items, McDonald's says.
Pa. Jail Offers Tourists a Taste of Prison Food
June 10, 2013 9:41 am | by KATHY MATHESON,Associated Press | CommentsThis weekend, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia served visitors sample inmate meals from the 1830s, 1940s and today: broiled salted beef with "Indian mush"; hamburger with brown gravy and beets; and Nutraloaf — an unappetizing concoction currently served as a punishment.
Ore. Farmers Face Uncertainty Due to GMO Wheat
June 10, 2013 9:38 am | by GEORGE PLAVEN,East Oregonian | CommentsBetween 85-90 percent of Oregon wheat is exported, the majority of which goes to Asian markets that made it very clear they do not want genetically modified food. Japan and South Korea already suspended some wheat orders, and the European Union is also calling for more rigorous testing of U.S. shipments.
AB InBev Completes Sale of U.S. Modelo Business
June 10, 2013 9:36 am | CommentsAnheuser-Busch InBev said Friday that it completed its $4.75 billion sale of Grupo Modelo's U.S. beer business to Constellation Brands Inc. The deal was struck to satisfy the Department of Justice's anti-competitive concerns about Anheuser-Busch InBev's larger purchase of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo.
Photo of the Day: A Taste of Prison Food
June 10, 2013 9:33 am | CommentsIn this Friday, May 31, 2013 photo, director of public programming Sean Kelly displays a plate of Nutraloaf, presently served in Pennsylvania prisons as a “behavior modified meal,” at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The historic penitentiary served visitors sample meals from the 1800s, 1900s and today on June 8th and 9th.
