News
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.
Target Rolls Out Organic, Natural Brand
June 7, 2013 12:26 pm | CommentsTarget Corp. is planning a new organic and natural store brand as it works to rev up its grocery business. The big-box retailer said the new brand, called Simply Balanced, will start with drinks and snacks like corn chips on Sunday. The line is an outgrowth of similar products within its existing Archer Farms store brand, which is positioned as a premium alternative to national name brands.
Ark. Poultry Plant Closes
June 7, 2013 12:25 pm | CommentsA poultry plant that opened in Pine Bluff a year ago has closed its doors, putting 180 people out of work while the owners look for a buyer or new investors. Horizon Foods shut down on Monday and is seeking new money to keep the venture going.
Daily Sound Bite: Chocolate Collusion?
June 7, 2013 12:22 pm | CommentsCanada's Competition Bureau is filing charges against the Canadian divisions of global chocolate giants Nestle and Mars, accusing the companies of price fixing. Hershey Canada has already pleaded guilty of price fixing and is cooperating with the Canadian investigation.
Study Sheds Light on Origins of French Winemaking
June 7, 2013 12:21 pm | by GREG KELLER,Associated Press | CommentsScrapings from the bottoms of 2,500-year-old pottery containers have shed new light on the origins of French winemaking. A team of archaeologists led by the University of Pennsylvania's Patrick McGovern used biomolecular analysis to confirm that fifth-century B.C. Etruscan amphorae found near Montpellier in southern France once contained a type of wine flavored with thyme, rosemary and basil.
China’s Top Butcher Tries To Sell U.S. on Smithfield Takeover
June 7, 2013 12:18 pm | by JOE McDONALD,AP Business Writer | CommentsShuanghui International's $4.7 billion bid for Smithfield Foods Ltd. has the endorsement of the American company's board. But facing anxiety over food safety scandals in China and complaints about Chinese cyber spying, 72-year-old chairman Wan Long has launched a charm offensive to reassure Americans they have nothing to fear and possibly much to gain from the tie-up.
