News
Green Groups Settle Farm Pollution Suit With EPA
May 27, 2010 11:13 am | CommentsDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will gather information about factory farms to determine whether more should be regulated as part of a settlement with environmental groups concerned about water pollution. The EPA reached the settlement Tuesday with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Waterkeeper Alliance.
Commerce Dept. Declares 'Fishery Disaster' In Gulf
May 26, 2010 5:03 am | CommentsNEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has declared a Gulf of Mexico fishery disaster for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The declaration would authorize emergency unemployment pay for commercial and charter fishermen if Congress approves President Barack Obama's proposal for such payments.
Sabra Opens Virginia Plant
May 26, 2010 5:02 am | CommentsCOLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (AP) — Snack dip company Sabra is cutting the ribbon on its new Virginia manufacturing plant as it goes after a growing American appetite for hummus. New York-based Sabra Dipping Company makes a range of refrigerated dips and spreads that are all certified kosher and vegetarian.
Video Shows Dairy Cow Abuse
May 26, 2010 5:02 am | CommentsCLEVELAND (AP) — An animal welfare group said Tuesday that a graphic video it secretly recorded shows workers at a dairy farm beating cows with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks and punching them in their heads. The video was recorded in an undercover investigation at Conklin Dairy Farms Inc.
Australia Delays Decision On $1.4B Sugar Deal
May 26, 2010 5:01 am | CommentsSYDNEY (AP) — Australia has delayed a decision on whether to allow China's Bright Food Group to proceed with a 1.75 billion Australian dollar ($1.4 billion) offer to buy the sugar division of building materials producer CSR Ltd. The Foreign Investment Review Board filed an order on May 19 to delay the decision for 90 days while it considers the Chinese food and retail conglomerate's offer for CSR's Sucrogen division, which includes its sugar and renewable energy business.
Foster's To Separate Beer, Wine Units
May 26, 2010 5:00 am | CommentsMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Foster's Group Ltd. said Wednesday it will split its global beer and troubled wine businesses into separate listed companies, as the Australian brewer and winemaker warned of a $1.1 billion write-down in the value of the wine operations. Foster's said in a statement that earnings for the fiscal year ending June 30 were expected between 1.
General Mills Joins Research Campus In N.C.
May 26, 2010 5:00 am | CommentsKANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — General Mills is joining the North Carolina Research Campus where it will work with other companies on agricultural and nutrition issues. Multiple media outlets reported General Mills says two employees will begin working in June at the Kannapolis biotech complex.
Feds: Slaughterhouse Manager Hid Child Workers
May 25, 2010 5:20 am | CommentsWATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A former supervisor at a kosher slaughterhouse raided by federal agents testified Monday that when child labor inspectors toured the facility, he took two workers he thought were underage and hid them in the basement. Former supervisor Brian Griffith testified Monday against former plant manager Sholom Rubashkin, who is being tried on 83 counts of child labor violations.
Workers At Venezuela's Polar On Alert After Warning
May 25, 2010 5:19 am | CommentsCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's socialist president is threatening to "go after" the country's biggest food producer, and the corporation's workers are not happy about it. Union leader Richard Prieto says employees of Empresas Polar held meetings Monday and agreed to "defend our jobs throughout the country.
Louisiana Reopens Some Oyster Harvesting
May 25, 2010 5:18 am | CommentsBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The state health department has ordered the reopening of an oyster harvesting area in Iberia Parish that was closed as a precaution after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Alan Levine, secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals, says Area 28, which is west of the Mississippi River in Iberia Parish, reopens at sunrise Tuesday.
Analyst Expects Kellogg, General Mills To Up Prices
May 25, 2010 5:18 am | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Investors shouldn't worry that weak cereal pricing will last because top producers like Kellogg Co. and General Mills Inc. will likely raise prices later this year, and retailers will have no choice but to accept it, an analyst said Monday. Credit Suisse analyst Robert Moskow told clients in a note Monday that breakfast cereal has been the "golden child of the food industry" in the past several years because of its better-than-average sales trends, ability to maintain prices and improvement in operating margins.
California Bill Would Ease Asian Noodle Rules
May 25, 2010 5:17 am | CommentsSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Restaurants and vendors could sell Asian rice noodles at room temperature without fear of being shut down due to health concerns if they follow provisions in a bill approved Monday by the state Senate. Sen. Leland Yee sought the bill after the state Department of Public Health cited San Francisco's Kun Wo Food Product Inc.
China Tries To Contain Food Prices
May 25, 2010 5:16 am | CommentsBEIJING (AP) — China's top economic planning agency Tuesday urged price regulators to take action against politically sensitive rising food prices amid worries about higher inflation. "Price stability is critical to overall economic development," the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement posted on its website.
Pesticide Switch Causes Uproar In California
May 24, 2010 4:55 am | CommentsLOS ANGELES (AP) — The winds that blow across the strawberry fields outside Linda Uvari's home during the spring harvest season carry the tart, sugary smell of the swelling fruits. Uvari fears that they may soon also carry a cancer-causing pesticide. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has proposed replacing a popular fumigant with methyl iodide despite concerns by its own scientific advisory panel that it could poison the air and water.
Iowa Farmers Receive $163M In Disaster Aid
May 24, 2010 4:54 am | CommentsDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa farmers enjoyed one of their best years in 2008, thanks to soaring corn and soybean prices. Now, many growers are getting a second shot of cash for that year's crops in the form of federal disaster payments — even if they had minimal revenue losses.
Chavez Warns Food Producer Polar
May 24, 2010 4:53 am | CommentsCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez threatened Venezuela's largest food producer anew on Sunday, warning that his government could go after Empresas Polar and shut down its brewery. Speaking during his weekly TV and radio program, Chavez said authorities are investigating whether food is being hoarded by "a bourgeoisie that wants to do harm.
Lawmakers Turn To Drinks As Source Of Cash
May 24, 2010 4:52 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Thirsty for new sources of cash, health-conscious lawmakers in cities and states across the country are reaching for the refrigerator, proposing taxes on sports drinks, teas and soda. Politicians say the taxes will help curb rates of obesity and diabetes and can pay for health programs.
Alfalfa Sprouts Recalled Due To Salmonella
May 24, 2010 4:51 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Salmonella found in raw alfalfa sprouts appears to have sickened at least 22 people in 10 states, including a baby in Oregon, prompting a nationwide recall of the product. Caldwell Fresh Foods of Maywood, Calif., announced the recall Friday. According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, which also announced the recall Friday, Caldwell's alfalfa product was sold in 18 states in the West, Midwest and South.
Mott's Workers Go On Strike
May 24, 2010 4:51 am | CommentsWILLIAMSON, N.Y. (AP) — About 300 workers at a Mott's apple juice manufacturing plant in western New York have gone on strike over proposed wage and benefit reductions. The unionized hourly employees at the Mott's plant in Williamson, 20 miles east of Rochester, walked off the job Sunday after contract negotiations on Friday failed to reach an agreement.
Pepsi Investing $2.5B In China
May 21, 2010 4:54 am | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo Inc. said Friday that it plans to invest an additional $2.5 billion in China in the next three years on new plants and research facilities as the food and beverage maker builds up its presence in the growing market. The company made the announcement in a news release Friday from Shanghai, site of the Shanghai Expo, where PepsiCo is a sponsor of the USA Pavilion.
