News
Canadian Beer Market Has A Hangover
April 20, 2010 7:17 am | CommentsOTTAWA (CP) — The latest national figures suggest Canadian palettes — at least when it comes to alcohol — are becoming somewhat more sophisticated. Beer and liquor stores and agencies sold $19.4 billion worth of alcoholic beverages during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, three percent more than in the previous year.
Experts Want Food Industry To Cut Salt Content
April 20, 2010 7:09 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Public health experts urged the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday to force food makers to gradually cut the salt hidden inside their products, something the agency is considering. Americans eat about 1½ teaspoons (7 grams) daily, more than double what they need for good health — and high enough to increase risk of high blood pressure and other problems.
Dairy Industry Advisory Committee Has First Meeting
April 20, 2010 6:46 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (USDA) — The 17-member Dairy Industry Advisory Committee appointed by Secretary Tom Vilsack has completed its first meeting, held here April 13 - 15. Secretary Vilsack charged the members with working together quickly to create recommendations to address critical dairy industry issues, including price volatility and dairy farmer profitability and their impact on the entire dairy industry.
Japan Suspends Beef Exports Over Foot-And-Mouth
April 20, 2010 5:31 am | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — Japan suspended beef exports Tuesday after detecting suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease in several cows in the south of the country, officials said. Three of 16 beef cows raised at a farm in Miyazaki developed mouth ulcers — a typical early symptom of the disease — earlier this month, prompting authorities to impose a ban that will last at least three months, said Agriculture Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu.
Teamsters Charge Coca-Cola With 'Mismanagement'
April 20, 2010 5:29 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (International Brotherhood of Teamsters) — A delegation of Teamster workers and representatives will attend the Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises Annual Meetings of Shareowners in Georgia this week to raise concerns about mismanagement throughout the Coca-Cola system that threatens to destroy good jobs, undermine workers' rights, and create large-scale inefficiencies in its product distribution system.
Ground Beef Recall Expanded Due To E. Coli Contamination
April 19, 2010 4:36 am | CommentsBOISE, Idaho (PRNewswire) — WinCo Foods announced Saturday that it is issuing an expansion of the Class 1 recall on all fresh ground beef products sold at all WinCo Foods stores: The original recall issued on April 10, 2010 was for ground beef sold from it's Modesto store only. Originally an independent lab had tested two samples of ground beef purchased at the Modesto, California store to be positive for E.
Spinach & Artichoke Dip Recalled Due To Listeria Concerns
April 19, 2010 4:35 am | CommentsLANDOVER, Md. (PRNewswire) — Following notification from its supplier, Giant Food of Landover, MD announced a voluntary recall of Giant Food Frozen Spinach & Artichoke Dip. The product was removed from sale due to possible contamination with listeria monocytogenes. The following product was removed from sale: Giant Food Frozen Dip Spinach & Artichoke UPC‥ 6 8826702988 2, 8oz.
Maine Law To Allow For More Lobster Processing
April 19, 2010 4:34 am | CommentsPORTLAND, Maine (AP) — As popular as Maine lobster is, fans of the delicacy might be surprised at how limited their options are. That's going to change come July 1. Tens of millions of pounds of Maine-caught lobster are shipped each year to Canada, where they are turned into value-added products that can be processed there — but not in Maine.
Salmon Decision Reinvigorates Fishermen
April 19, 2010 4:32 am | CommentsNEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — Dean Fleck put in an urgent phone call to his purchasing agent on Thursday. The manager of the Newport branch of Englund Marine Supply was fresh out of two different sizes of troll wire, a critical piece of gear for the Chinook salmon fleet, which is back in business for the first time in three years.
Congressional Bill To Create Dairy Growth Plan
April 19, 2010 4:30 am | CommentsFAIRFAX, Vt. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., plans to unveil a bill he's introducing that would create a growth management program for the U.S. dairy industry. In an appearance Friday at a Fairfax dairy farm, the Democratic representative heard dairy farmers on the topic of price volatility.
FDA Helps Producers Comply With Rules For Shell Eggs
April 19, 2010 4:28 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (FDA) — On April 13, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published guidance for small egg producers to help them comply with a 2009 federal egg safety regulation designed to prevent Salmonella Enteritidis in shell eggs during production, transportation, and storage. Entitled “Guidance for Industry: Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Transportation, and Storage - Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG),” the new guidance is intended to set forth, in plain language, the requirements of the 2009 egg safety regulation in order to help small businesses comply with that regulation.
County Lending $100K To NY-Based Meat Company
April 16, 2010 6:15 am | CommentsGIBBON, Neb. (AP) — A Buffalo County loan will help a New York-based meat company hire some employees to get the former Turkey Growers Cooperative plant back in operation. The county Economic Development Council will lend Midwest Meat Packing $100,000. The six-month, no-interest loan was approved Tuesday by county supervisors.
Illegal Whale Meat Surfacing At Sushi Bars
April 16, 2010 6:13 am | CommentsGRANTS PASS, Oregon (AP) — A study released Wednesday offers evidence that whale meat from Japan is illegally being served at sushi restaurants elsewhere, including one in South Korea last year. Scientists from Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport performed DNA tests on whale as part of a project monitoring sources of whale meat offered for sale since 1993.
What's That Smell? Hog Manure Becomes Asphalt
April 16, 2010 6:11 am | CommentsEUREKA, Mo. (AP) — The outer road along Interstate 44 near Six Flags St. Louis is freshly paved — with asphalt made from recycled swine manure. It is believed to be the first time asphalt has been created from swine manure. Two St. Louis County companies, road contractor Pace Construction Co.
CDC Confirms New Strain Of Norovirus
April 16, 2010 6:01 am | CommentsBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that recently tested samples submitted by state health officials contain a new strain of norovirus. The CDC reports the new strain, like other norovirus strains, is transmitted person to person, and has been confirmed nationwide for about 50 percent of recent outbreaks.
U.S.'s Biggest Brews
April 16, 2010 6:00 am | CommentsBoulder, CO (Brewers Association) —The Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group that tabulates production statistics for U.S. breweries, released its annual lists reporting the top 50 brewing companies in the country, based on 2009 beer sales volume. The Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies list contains 76 percent craft brewing companies.
Bayer Ordered To Pay U.S. Rice Farmers $48M
April 16, 2010 5:59 am | CommentsLITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) — German conglomerate Bayer CropScience should pay a dozen Arkansas farmers nearly $50 million for allowing a genetically altered strain of rice to escape into the commercial market, damaging rice prices in 2006, a jury ruled Thursday. An attorney for the farmers, Scott Powell, said the jury decided on the judgment after less than two hours of deliberations Thursday afternoon.
Reid Supply Adds 8,000 Packaging, Shipping Products
April 14, 2010 5:17 am | CommentsMUSKEGON, MI (Reid Supply) — Reid Supply Company, a Michigan-based global distributor of industrial supplies, announced the launch of more than 8,000 packaging and shipping products to its tens-of-thousands of industrial products inventory. It was a commonsense decision to offer our customers packaging and shipping supplies ,” says Greg Palmer, Director of Marketing at Reid Supply.
Sponsor Drops Roethlisberger From Beef Jerky
April 14, 2010 5:16 am | CommentsPITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh company that markets food products endorsed by local sports stars has ended its beef jerky sponsorship deal with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. PLB Sports president Ty Ballou says Roethlisberger is "falling short" of the company's standards after a Georgia prosecutor announced Monday he will not prosecute the quarterback over sexual assault allegations.
Meat, Poultry Industries Await New Antitrust Rules
April 14, 2010 5:15 am | CommentsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal regulators are set to release the most sweeping antitrust rules covering the meat industry in decades, potentially altering the balance of power between meat companies and the farmers who raise their animals. Activists, farmers and meat industry officials have been anxiously awaiting the new rules, which will be released this spring for public comment and are set to take effect this summer.
