Industry News

About 72% of consumers are using more coupons than they did six months ago due to the economy, according to a study by Prospectiv. The vast majority (81%) use coupons for grocery items. About 80% stated they would be very likely or likely to increase their use of coupons if they could be tailored to their interests and delivered online, and 87% of shoppers reported they would be more likely to shop at a retailer that offered coupons, reported Brandweek. Full Story

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN PRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES FOR RETAILERS The future of food retailing for the next three to five years will be dramatically affected by two major trends: food inflation and the emergence of small format stores, according to the annual Future of Food Retailing webinar presented by The Food Institute and Willard Bishop, which examined the state of the food and consumables retail industry in 2007 and beyond. Food price inflation will exceed current "conventional wisdom," and be a factor for three or more years, predicted Willard Bishop during the webinar. In fact, predictions about the rate of inflation have generally been underestimated. However, this food price inflation can benefit food retailers with winning shopper value equations and solid plans to take advantage. If you missed The Future of Food Retailing webinar and would like to purchase a recording, click here.

As demand for premium chocolate soars, new high-tech confectioners are changing the industry with Silicon Valley-style innovation, antique German equipment, and a focus on the cocoa bean. For example, San Francisco, CA-based TCHO is seeking to improve the quality of chocolate through scientific experimentation with flavors and does not classify bars by cacoa content or origin. The company currently sells its chocolate only online in brown packets labeled "beta," and solicits feedback and reaches out to customers through social media outlets like YouTube, reported CNN. Full Story

Foods claiming to deliver energy are finding a distinct place in the marketplace as consumers are looking beyond energy drinks for an added boost, according to Mintel. Mintel's Global New Products Database picked up a number of ‘energy' ingredients moving into foods, including ginseng, guarana and taurine, which are already popular in energy drinks and now appear in snacks, reported Market Watch. Full Story

Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.'s current phase of its ‘Good ‘Til' program, which offers customers reduced pricing on over 1,000 products, will receive increased focus in its weekly circular. ‘Good ‘Til Fall' runs through Oct. 8 and gives shoppers the opportunity to take advantage of discounts throughout the store when they use their Customer Reward Card. Full Story

RedPrairie Corp. integrated radio-frequency identification technology into its yard management system. This initiative is based off a module of its Warehouse Management Solution and provides customers with a new level of visibility and control over yard operations and asset management, according to Tom Kozenski, RedPrairie vice president product strategy, reported Convenience Store News. Full Story

International News

Russia could cut poultry and pork import quotas by hundreds of thousands of tons, according to Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev. Any substantial cuts would likely make an impact on U.S. poultry producers, such as Sanderson Farms Inc. and Pilgrim's Pride Corp., for whom Russia is the biggest market, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

The cause of the deadly listeria contamination at a Maple Leaf Foods Toronto meat plant may never be known, according to president Michael McCain. So far, 29 cases of listeria are confirmed, including 15 deaths: 12 in Ontario and one each in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec, reported The Globe and Mail. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Washington News

USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service needs to strengthen its controls over the reinspection of imported meat and poultry items at U.S. ports and strengthen its methodology for selecting foreign establishments for review, according to a followup report by USDA's Office of the Inspector General, Controls Over Imported Meat and Poultry Products. Full Report

In a move that could lead to the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by U.S. issuers beginning in 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission will publish a "Roadmap" for doing so, noting that more than 100 countries around the world, including all of Europe, currently require or permit IFRS reporting. The proposed multi-year plan sets out several milestones that, if achieved, could lead to the use of IFRS by U.S. issuers in their filings with the Commission. The SEC estimates at least 110 U.S. companies would qualify based on their market capitalization, among other factors. Full Release

Reversing a prior decision, the California Assembly approved a bill that would limit the amount of a chemical that was linked to cancer and is used in food packaging. The measure would allow no more than 10 parts per billion of a compound known as PFOA in fast-food wrappers, pizza boxes, beverage containers, and other food packaging, reported The Modesto Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

FDA was praised for issuing a final rule allowing fresh lettuce and spinach to be irradiated in its ongoing efforts to reduce foodborne illnesses in both The New York Times on the Web Full Editorial (Free Registration Required) and The Wall Street Journal. Full Editorial (WSJ Subscription Required)

Market News

There are about 1.1 million hired workers in the U.S. and half of those lack legal authorization to work in the country, according to an updated profile of farmworkers. Most are located in the Southwest, with California and Texas accounting for almost one-third of the $22 billion spent in 2002 on hired farm labor, reported AZCentral.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

China's apple production should increase 15% for the 2008 season, according to an estimate provided by Joyce Cui to the U.S. Apple Association's 2008 Apple Crop and Marketing Conference. Ms. Cui claims China's 2007 crop was down about 10% from normal on average. China's shortfall, combined with a crop cut short by frost in Poland, sparked higher prices for apple juice concentrate in the 2007-08 season, reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Subscription Required)

The 2008 Idaho potato harvest began, according to Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission. Shippers went through the 2007 crop faster than anticipated, so there is not much product in the marketplace. Added to that is the fact that the crop, delayed by cool, wet weather in the early spring, is running a little later than normal, reported The Produce News. Full Story

Alcan Packaging Food Americas introduced sustainable, high-barrier packaging solutions with Ceramis-PLA biodegradable barrier films. Made from the annually renewable resource corn starch, Ceramis polyactic acid (PLA) structures are fully biodegradable and compostable to meet the market's increasing demand for environmentally responsible packaging, reported PackagingNetwork.com. Full Story