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Industry News
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. commenced
a tender offer, through an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary, to acquire all of
the outstanding shares of common stock of Casey's General
Stores, Inc. for $36.00 per share in cash. Unless the
Board of Directors of Casey's is willing to negotiate
and enter into a merger agreement with Couche-Tard,
Couche-Tard intends to, among other things, nominate,
and solicit proxies for the election of, a slate of
nine independent directors for election to the Board
of Directors of Casey's at the 2010 annual meeting of
shareholders of Casey's. Full
Story New! A
recording of the Food Institute webinar A Look at
Merger & Acquisition Activity, Past, Present and Future
is now available! The webinar reviewed recent
M & A activity and discussed what makes certain companies
appealing to sell or buy. To purchase a recording, click
here.
Steuben Foods Inc. will begin a 90,000-sq.
ft., $52 million expansion of its Elma, NY plant.
The expansion will increase its annual production to
well above a half-billion units of drinks, juices and
other aseptic products, reported Business First of
Buffalo. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
View Today!
The June 2 edition of New Products Hits and Misses
with Phil Lempert profiles items including Natural
Vines Black Licorice, Organic Valley Live Organic Lowfat
Yogurt Drink Plain Flavor and Falafel Republic Traditional
Falafel. Five new products are evaluated each week.
Click
here
to view.
Some
69% of parents with health concerns read nutrition
 labels
all or some of the time, but 51% claim that the
rising cost of healthy food choices is a deterrent for
purchasing better options for their family, according
to the Country Crock Report on Food, Fitness and
Families survey. Parents are also concerned by outside
pressures on children that encourage unhealthy eating
(32%) and the negative influence of advertising and
marketing of unhealthy foods (34%). Full
Story
 More
than 30,000 shoppers found Costco to be top among
11 of America's most popular chain stores, according
a survey by Consumer Reports. Some 50% of readers
who shopped at Costco rated the value as Excellent;
for all the stores in the survey as a whole, that figure
was 30%. It was the only store judged much better than
average for value. Full
Story
Slider Dogs from Nathan's
Famous and a line of dishes endorsed by Dale Earnhardt
Jr. from Wow! Foods were some of the items featured
at the National Automatic Merchandising Association's
National Vending Show, reported The Chicago Tribune.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
International News
Canadian standards for the transport
of animals are significantly weaker than those of other
jurisdictions, including Europe
and the U.S., according to a report by the World Society
for the Protection of Animals, which is based on inspection
reports filed by the Canadian Food Inspection  Agency
(CFIA) between Oct. 9, 2008, and Jan. 9, 2009, reported
The Globe and Mail. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
BASF is constructing a production
plant for the aroma chemical L-menthol in Germany.
The plant is expected to be completed in 2012. Full
Story
Health News
Eating
chocolate could bring down cholesterol levels,
but only in small amounts and only in some people, according
to an analysis of eight studies published in American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reported Reuters.
Full
Story
Washington News
The Senate passed a resolution urging
seven Asian countries to follow international guidelines
and provide full market access to all U.S. beef products.
Countries include China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong,
Taiwan, Mexico and Vietnam. Full
Story
General Mills, Inc. withdrew an FDA
food additive petition proposing that the food
additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe
use of ultraviolet radiation for the reduction of pathogens
and other microorganisms in aqueous sugar solutions
and potable water intended for use in food production.
Full
Notice
Market News
A decline in strawberry supplies
in the U.S. market this year
may be attributed mostly to smaller crops in California
and Florida. The initial forecast from USDA's National
Agricultural Statistics Service calls for a 7% decline
in strawberry production in California in 2010 from
a year ago, reaching 2.3 billion-lbs. The winter strawberry
crop in Florida was forecast down to 144.0 million-lbs.,
declining by 39%. Meanwhile, at 123 in April, the index
of prices received by fruit and tree nut growers fell
9% from the March index. Pushing down the index were
significant grower price declines for grapefruit and
strawberries in April from the previous month. Fruit
and Tree Nuts Outlook Report
As of May 15, California's tomato
processors reported they have or will have contracts
for 12.3 million tons of processing tomatoes for
2010, noted USDA. This production is 6% lower than the
contracted production of last year. The May contracted
acreage of 269,000 is 11,000 less than the January intentions
forecast. Fresno County retains the top spot over other
California counties in contracted planted acreage for
2010 with 99,000 acres. Processing
Tomato Report
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