| Editor's
Note: The Daily
Brief will not publish Monday, July 5. Publication will resume Tuesday, July
6. Industry News Walgreen
Co. will be conducting a test of chilled foods at up
to 12 stores this fall. The company may sell sandwiches, fresh cut fruit, soups
and wraps, reported ChicagoBreakingBusiness.com. Full
Story Pate Dawson Company subsidiary Meat and
Seafood Solutions, LLC acquired certain assets of Southern Foods Group. Full
Story Now Available! The Food Institute's
comprehensive Food Business Mergers & Acquisitions 2009 provides detailed
analysis on the 263 mergers and acquisitions recorded in 2009. Organized into
over 25 categories, the Food Business Mergers & Acquisitions 2009 guide is a valuable
resource for examining individual deals as well as exploring larger trends in
specific industries or international markets. To order and for more information,
click here.
JBS SA is considering trying to purchase Smithfield
Foods Inc., according to Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico, reported
The Virginian-Pilot. Full
Story Green
Equity Investors plans to talk with BJ's Wholesale Club executives about the
potential for taking the company private after buying a 9.5% stake. Janney Capital
Markets analyst David Strasser stated that a leveraged buyout would make sense
and that BJ's has ample room for expansion as its business now is limited to the
northeastern U.S., reported USA Today. Full
Story Wal-Mart (No. 1), Kroger (No. 2), Target
(No. 3) and Costco (No. 6) were named on The STORES Top 100 Retailers list,
compiled and analyzed by Kantar Retail. Dollar General (No. 28) climbed seven
spots this year. Family Dollar (No. 45) moved up from No. 56 in 2009 and Dollar
Tree (No. 61) went up 15 spots. Full
Story In
response to a recent Daily Brief survey, "What format will be best positioned
to capture food share in the future," 14% voted Dollar Stores, 20% voted Supermarkets,
24% voted Warehouse Clubs and 42% voted Supercenters.
International
News  Nestle
India Ltd. is planning its first acquisition in India.
The company plans to acquire a company "sooner than later," to expand
its product line, according to Chairman and Managing Director Antonio Helio Waszyk.
Nestle India plans to expand into packaged-food items, including breakfast cereals,
reported Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Full
Story
India's food inflation rate dropped to
an eight-month low. The wholesale-price index of farm products fell to 12.9%
in the week ended June 19 from a year earlier, reported Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Full
Story Health News The
nitrate content of beetroot juice helps lower blood pressure,
claims research from the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, reported BBC
News. Full
Story Washington
News USDA
finalized tougher new standards for ground beef purchased by AMS
for Federal food and nutrition assistance programs including the National School
Lunch Program. In addition to continuing a zero tolerance for E. coli O157:H7
and Salmonella, the new AMS standards will tighten microbiological testing protocols.
Full
Story
| NEED
HELP COMPLYING WITH THE BIOTERRORISM ACT? A
convenient reference source and guide to the Bioterrorism Act, as well as
federal regulations and policies implementing the Bioterrorism Act, is available
from The Food Institute. Authored by Olsson, Frank & Weeda, P.C., this guide can
assist U.S. and foreign food industry users in understanding not only the strict
legal requirements, but also FDA’s findings, conclusions, and views as set forth
in rulemaking preambles and other documents. For more information
or to order the book, click
here. | |
New York Sen. Charles Schumer called on FDA to adopt
stricter enforcement policies against airline caterers. Sen. Schumer stated
the agency should impose new regulations that would ban caterers with repeat health-code
violations from operating at U.S. airports, reported USA Today. Full
Story Market News Some
watermelon growers abandoned production due to low prices,
according to grower shippers. "The price in Georgia has been extremely short,"
stated Randy Smith, VP and salesman for Midwest Marketing Co. Inc. "The growers
have lost a lot of money. A lot of the melons have been left in the fields because
they couldn't sell all they had," reported The Packer Online. Full
Story (Subscription Required) 
Scientists
with the University of Southern Mississippi and Tulane University found droplets
of oil in the larvae of blue crabs and fiddler crabs sampled from Louisiana
to Pensacola, FL, reported Miami Herald. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) | 
