| Industry
News Dollar Tree may expand to up to 7,000
stores across the country from its current 3,925, president
and CEO Bob Sasser stated in a conference call, and plans to open 230 new stores
before year-end. The company also intends to roll out food and frozen and refrigerated
products to 146 stores for a total of 400 stores for the year after installing
freezers and coolers in 117 stores during the company's fiscal second quarter,
increasing frozen and refrigerated products availability to 1,677 stores. Morningstar.com 
Rizo
Lopez Foods will open a 128,000-sq. ft. plant in Modesto, CA and expects to
start production in early 2012. The company makes a variety of Hispanic cheeses,
yogurts, creams and desserts, which it sells under its Don Francisco brand. It
sells meat products manufactured by another company, also under the Don Francisco
name. The products are sold in California, Nevada, Arizona, Illinois, Georgia,
Texas and Florida, reported The Modesto Bee. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) Cypress
Grove Chevre was acquired by Switzerland-based Emmi. Emmi also increased its
stake in Contract Aseptic & Specialty Packaging LLC (CASP) to 100%. CASP specializes
in contract manufacturing of aseptic milk products. Full
Story Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market plans
to open eight stores in Northern California in early 2011. Full
Story New
Product News: ConAgra Foods, Inc. launched eight Healthy Choice microwavable
frozen meals. Full
Story ... Pinnacle Foods introduced Hungry-Man Frozen Dinners and Entrees
Pub Favorites in three varieties. Full
Story ... Saffron Road launched a line of frozen Halal Certified Indian
entrees at Whole Foods Market stores across the U.S. Full
Story ... Jerome Brown Barbeque & Wings' signature barbecue sauce will
be sold in Walmart stores nationwide, reported Jacksonville Business Journal.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required) In
response to a recent Daily Brief survey, "What food categories are most likely
to lose sales to private label/store brands in the near future," 47% voted
Frozen Foods, 18% voted Meal Kits, 23% voted Chips & Pretzels and 12% voted
Crackers.International News  Starbucks
Corp assumed 100% ownership and operating control of Starbucks Brazil through
the acquisition of Cafes Sereia do Brasil Participacoes S.A. Full
Story
Menchie's expects to open 100 locations
in Japan as part of a master franchise agreement, reported dBusinessNews.
Full
Story Health News A
diet rich in green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of developing diabetes,
claims a study published in the British Medical Journal, reported BBC
News. Full
Story Washington
News Utz
Quality Foods Inc. and Frito-Lay Inc. sued each other over the "Grandma"
trademark. Utz sued Frito-Lay last week, arguing that
the trademark is weak since other companies also registered "Grandma" in connection
with food. Utz's lawsuit conceded that Frito-Lay holds U.S. trademarks for "Grandma's"
as it relates to cookies. On Aug. 16, Frito-Lay filed suit against Utz and a related
company, Rice Investments, contending trademark infringement, reported The
Dallas Morning News. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) 
Acting
under a court order sought by FDA, U.S. Marshals seized packaged food products
from a rodent-infested warehouse in Athens, GA. A variety of products, including
crackers, cookies and potato chips, were intended for sale to jails and prisons
throughout the southeastern U.S.
Full Story Market News Sales
of the 2009-2010 U.S. mushroom crop are 793 million-lbs.,
down 3% from the 2008-2009 season. Value of sales for the 2009-2010 mushroom crop
is $925 million, down 4% from the previous season. The number of growers, at 312,
is up 23 from last season. The average price is $1.17 per pound, unchanged from
2008-2009. Volume of sales reported by growers of Agaricus mushrooms for fresh
market is 671 million-lbs., down 1% from the 2008-2009 season. Volume of sales
of Agaricus mushrooms for processing is 107 million-lbs., down 13% from last season.
USDA
Mushroom Report 
Farmers
in the U.S. are wary that global dynamics could shift wheat prices again
before next year's harvest despite Russia's ban on grain exports causing rising
prices. However, a quirk of crop insurance, which locks in grain prices for policies
based on a window set after Russia announced the Aug. 5 ban on grain exports,
could accelerate the trend of increased wheat planting, farm experts state, or
prompt farmers in other parts of the country to reconsider planting the crop,
reported The New York Times on the Web. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) |
