News
Consumer Trends: The Vegetables People Hate
June 17, 2013 12:00 pm | CommentsRanker.com, a crowdsourcing website that relies on “the wisdom of crowds,” has collected the aggregated opinion of over 1,500 voters on the list of “Vegetables I Won’t Eat.” Voters are able to vote up the veggies they hate the most, and vote down the ones that aren’t that bad.
Fair Trade USDA, Whole Foods Collaborate at Summit
June 17, 2013 9:52 am | CommentsFair Trade USA and Whole Foods Market teamed up to strengthen services to farmers and workers with the first-ever Fair Trade Produce & Floral Summit. The summit brought together 115 farmers & farm workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru as well as nonprofit organizations.
WhiteWave Announces Second Offering
June 17, 2013 9:46 am | CommentsThe WhiteWave Foods Co. said Friday that it filed plans for a secondary offering of 29.9 million shares of its stock currently held by one-time parent company Dean Foods Co. The company has granted the option to underwriters to buy an additional 4.5 million shares of stock.
USDA: Modified Wheat Appears To Be Isolated
June 17, 2013 9:43 am | by MARY CLARE JALONICK,Associated Press | CommentsThe U.S. Agriculture Department says it has no indications that genetically modified wheat found in Oregon last month has spread beyond the field in which it was found. No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming, and the department is investigating how the engineered wheat got there.
Award-Winning Chef Accused of Selling Bogus Wine
June 17, 2013 9:41 am | CommentsAward-winning chef Charlie Trotter is being sued by two New York wine collectors who say he sold them a bottle of wine for more than $46,000 that wasn't what it said on the label. The federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Chicago accuses Trotter and one of his wine experts of duping them into buying what they thought was a magnum of 1945 Romanee-Conti from the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti winery in June 2012.
Whey from Greek Yogurt Used To Produce Power
June 17, 2013 9:36 am | by MICHAEL HILL,Associated Press | CommentsThe Greek yogurt boom in New York is being harnessed to make electricity. More Greek yogurt production has meant more whey, a watery byproduct from the process. Yogurt makers commonly ship it back to farms for use as feed and fertilizer, but it's also is being used to generate power in several places.
Photo of the Day: The Power of Whey
June 17, 2013 9:34 am | CommentsWhey, a byproduct of Greek yogurt production, is collected at Gloversville-Johnstown wastewater plant west of Albany, N.Y., and mixed with anaerobic bacteria. The resulting methane gas becomes combustible fuel that generates nearly enough electricity to power the plant.
Daily Sound Bite: Future Rosy for Hormel
June 17, 2013 9:32 am | CommentsKeyBanc analyst Akshay Jagdale on Friday upgraded Hormel Foods Corp. stock from "Hold" to "Buy." Jagdale is optimistic about the company's future growth, citing a solid profit outlook for the company's Jennie-O Turkey division and its recent acquisition of Skippy.
Analyst Optimistic About Hormel’s Growth Opportunities
June 14, 2013 12:59 pm | CommentsA KeyBanc analyst on Friday upgraded Hormel Foods Corp. to "Buy" from "Hold," citing optimism about the company's prospects for growth. Akshay Jagdale, who also set a $48 price target, said that he came away from recent meetings with Hormel's management feeling more confident about the food company's plans to grow its existing businesses and the profit outlook for its Jennie-O-Turkey store division.
Wholesale Prices Rise 0.5 Percent in May
June 14, 2013 12:58 pm | by CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER,AP Economics Writer | CommentsA rise in food and gas costs drove a measure of wholesale prices up sharply in May. But outside those volatile categories, inflation was mild. The Labor Department said Friday that the producer price index rose 0.5 percent in May from April. Gas prices rose 1.5 percent last month, and food costs increased 0.6 percent.
Consumer Trends: Food Enzymes Market Growing
June 14, 2013 12:48 pm | CommentsGrowing demand for processed foods coupled with increasing awareness about health conscious products is significantly propelling growth in food industry, which in-turn is driving growth of the enzymes market. Foods Enzymes are biocatalysts which carry out specific functions in various application industries.
Daily Sound Bite: Potato Growers Accused of Antitrust
June 14, 2013 12:45 pm | CommentsAn association of Kansas-based grocery stores is suing the United Potato Growers of America (UPGA) claiming the group used unfair business practices to fix potato prices. But the UPGA is claiming it is shielded by Capper-Volstead, a 1922 act that exempts agriculture cooperatives from antitrust laws.
Former Goya Foods President Dies at 88
June 14, 2013 12:36 pm | CommentsJoseph Unanue, who helped turn Goya Foods into America's largest Hispanic-owned food company, has died. He was 88. Unanue died Wednesday at his home in Alpine, Bergen County. His family said he died of natural causes. Unanue began working at Goya in 1952 and served as president of the Secaucus-based company from 1976 to 2004.
Launch of U.S.-EU Trade Talks Hits Snag
June 14, 2013 12:34 pm | by MARJORIE OLSTER,Associated Press | CommentsOne of the big goals of President Barack Obama's upcoming trip to Europe may be in jeopardy, with French objections threatening to hold up the launch of negotiations on a sweeping U.S.-European Union free trade pact. The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has raised great expectations of boosting growth and jobs by eliminating tariffs and other barriers that have long plagued economic relations.
Misbranded Beef Jerky Recalled
June 14, 2013 12:29 pm | CommentsUnited States Department of Agriculture officials said Wednesday that products manufactured by Eufaula-based Hickory Hollow Jerky, LLC contain Worcestershire sauce and anchovy paste. Officials say fish is a known allergen and should be listed on the product's labels.
Photo of the Day: Pricey Potato Scandal
June 14, 2013 12:25 pm | CommentsPotatoes are harvested at farm west of Idaho Falls , Idaho, in this September 2010 file photo. A U.S. wholesale grocer says America's potato farmers are running an illegal price-fixing scheme, driving up spud prices while spying on farmers with satellites to enforce strict limits on how many tubers they can grow.
NYC Restaurant Owners Protest Foam-Container Ban
June 14, 2013 12:00 pm | by BETHAN MCKERNAN,Associated Press | CommentsA proposal to eliminate plastic foam takeout containers in New York City was met with criticism Wednesday by restaurateurs who said a ban on the ubiquitous containers would drive up costs and potentially put them out of business. Around 40 opponents bearing signs reading "Put a lid on it NYC" rallied on the steps of City Hall before a City Council meeting in which the ban on polystyrene foam containers was introduced.
Smithfield Foods 4Q Profit Plummets 63 Percent
June 14, 2013 9:56 am | by MICHAEL FELBERBAUM,AP Business Writer | CommentsPork producer Smithfield Foods says its net income fell nearly 63 percent in the fourth quarter as it experienced lower hog prices, higher feed costs and a decline in exports to China and Russia. The results come amid the company's pending $4.72 billion takeover by the majority shareholder in China's largest meat processor.
The Latest Seafood Trend: Trash Fish Dining
June 14, 2013 9:54 am | by MICHELE KAYAL,Associated Press | CommentsMost people have only ever seen a scorpion fish in an aquarium. Unless they dine at Carolina Crossroads Restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., where they'll find the spiny, venomous creature on the menu. It's called trash fish dining, and it's catching on with chefs around the country searching for fresh ways to fill their menus with sustainable — and delicious — seafood.
Grocers Say Potato Group Pumped Up Spud Prices
June 14, 2013 9:31 am | by JOHN MILLER,Associated Press | CommentsA battle between grocers and potato growers has been silently hitting shoppers' pocketbooks, according to a U.S. wholesaler accusing America's spud farmers of driving up prices while spying on farmers with satellites and aircraft fly-overs to enforce strict limits on how many tubers they can grow.
