| Industry
News Signature Foods, with sales of $28 million,
75% of which comes from the firm's own food brands, is profiled
by Inc., which calls it the nation's fastest-growing food and beverage
company. Full
Story 
Sun
Capital Partners failed to find a buyer for Marsh Supermarkets, and plans
to continue investing in the chain. The company will pursue new store sites and
add-on acquisitions. The chain represents 16% of Indianapolis' grocery market
share, reported Indianapolis Business Journal. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) 
Friendly's
Ice Cream Corp. CEO Harsha Agadi is eyeing domestic and overseas expansion for
Friendly's restaurants and, in the next five years, a doubling of sales of packaged
ice cream, which is distributed in more than 4,000 retail outlets. Mr. Agadi plans
to update restaurants to make Friendly's more contemporary and expand the Friendly's
Express quick-service concept to 100 locations by 2015, reported Boston Herald.
Full
Story Dearborn Sausage Co., Inc. and THANASI
Foods LLC formed Macomb Smoked Meats LLC as a joint venture to purchase and
manage the American Foods Company Inc. beef jerky and smoked sausage production
facility in Macomb, MI. Full
Story Consumers
are more likely to see foods as useful in preventing health problems than
in treating them, according to a report released by The Hartman Group, with 56%
using foods to prevent high cholesterol and 30% using foods to treat it. Consumers
were also more apt to be using foods to prevent than to treat cancer (46% vs.
10%), high blood pressure (41% vs. 15%) and osteoporosis (27% vs. 10%), reported
Adweek. Full
Story International
News General Mills is selling its chain of Delicity bakeries
in Argentina to Tentissimo Group. As part of the sales
 agreement,
General Mills will continue to supply dough products to Delicity shops. Full
Story Carrefour SA filed a lawsuit against
China-based Anhui Jiale Supermarket Chain Co Ltd and its subsidiaries, claiming
it violated the rule of fair competition and infringed upon the Carrefour trademark.
The supermarket chain Jiale company was accused of illegally using the logo "Jialefu,"
the Chinese version of "Carrefour," in its company name and business activities,
reported Bernama. Full
Story Health News Some
bottled teas contain far lower polyphenol levels than
green or black tea brewed at home, according to a study presented at the American
Chemical Society annual meeting, reported HealthDay. Full
Story Washington
News The
Energy & Commerce Committee requested documents and
information from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms on the contamination of
their egg products, including when government officials and customers of the affected
egg products were first notified of the contamination. Full
Story 
FDA
Commissioner Margaret Hamburg stated that FDA "very likely" could have prevented
the recent recall of a half-billion eggs if revised food safety rules for egg
producers were in place before July 9. FDA officials also stated that the two
companies involved in the recall will not be able to ship products again until
the farms present detailed plans on how they will avoid contamination risks, reported
The Wall Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required) Market
News Some 192 large egg companies own about 95% of laying
hens domestically, down from 2,500 in 1987, according
to United Egg Producers. Most of those producers are concentrated in five states:
Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and California. The consolidation was driven
by economies of scale, stated Dan Otto, an economics professor at Iowa State University,
reported The Washington Post. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
| Recording
Now Available! The Future
of Food Retailing 2010, a webinar presented by
the Food Institute and Willard Bishop, provides
unique and unparalleled insights on retailer strategies and evaluated actions
Walmart and other retailers are taking. The webinar points out intended and unintended
consequences of retailers' actions. Winners and losers in the post-recession food
retailing landscape are identified. To learn more and purchase a recording, click
here. | | Rice
is set to rally as consumers and investors seek alternatives to wheat.
Rice futures in Chicago fell to $9.55 per 100-lbs. on June 30, their lowest level
in almost four years and less than half the record $25.07 in April 2008, reported
Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Full
Story | 
