Industry News

Despite rising food prices, nearly 80% of U.S. adults do not want to compromise on the quality of the food they purchase. The majority (70%) are continuing to buy the same amount of natural and/or organic foods as they normally do, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Whole Foods Market. Full Story

Slumping sales at Darden, the parent of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, suggest that sit-down restaurants will continue struggling through the fall after a dismal summer, reported The Wall Street Journal. Sales at sit-down restaurants open at least 16 months fell 1.5% from the year-earlier period in the Jan. 1 to Aug. 1 period, according to Knapp-Track, which tracks sales at about 10,000 dining outlets. In addition, restaurants will emphasize value-oriented promotions and pull back on some of the appeals toward indulgent spending they typically make around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last week, Olive Garden launched its $8.95 never-ending pasta bowl promotion, about two weeks earlier than usual. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Two of every three new restaurants, delis, and food shops close within three years of opening, according to federal government statistics. However, that often does not prevent people from trying, according to The New York Times on the Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Burger King is adding smaller, lower-cost items, priced at $1.39, despite rising costs. The products, the Cheesy Bacon BK Wrapper and the Spicy Chicken BK Wrapper, are similar to those already on the menu at McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC and Taco Bell, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Latest sales & earnings for food related companies (Updated Daily)

Pizza Fusion plans to open 500 U.S. franchises over the next half-decade. The restaurant chain, which uses organic and gluten-free ingredients, currently has 75 franchises in development in 15 states and intends to grow following an equity investment by Woodbridge Holdings Corp, reported The Bradenton Herald. Full Story

PetroSun West LLC is expected to purchase roughly 600 gas stations from ConocoPhillips for about $800 million. The sale will mark the company's exit from the U.S. retail-gasoline arena, allowing it to focus on finding new supplies of crude oil. Its brands are Conoco, 76, and Phillips 66, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Wendy's is introducing low-fat, Nestle Nesquik milk in its 5,900 U.S. restaurants, along with the "Squeezerz," a low-fat, strawberry yogurt in a kid-friendly, squeezable tube. Full Story

Starbucks unveiled Clover Crafted Small Batch Coffees in 10 Seattle locations. The Clover brewing system will be introduced in the Boston and San Francisco markets in the coming months. Full Story

Philadelphians are the most generous tippers in the nation, leaving an average tip of 19.6%, according to Zagat's 2009 Philadelphia Restaurants. New Yorkers leave 19%, the national average, while L.A. residents leave 18.4%. Meanwhile, Zagat book respondents, who average 2.6 meals a week at restaurants, stated their favorite cuisines were Italian (28%), American (14%), Japanese (11%), French (10%), Mexican (10%) and Thai (9%). About 25% of Philadelphia diners make reservations online, compared to 14% in L.A. and 43% in San Francisco, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

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Sales for Campbell's Chunky soup line are slumping, falling 9% to $393 million, according to Information Resources, Inc. Meanwhile, sales of the smaller "healthy" line of Chunky soups more than tripled in 2007 to $56 million. The company will also be changing its ad campaign for the Chunky line, as new research revealed that the company's target consumers are men in their 30s, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Coborn's Inc. acquired SimonDelivers, a former grocery delivery service, and plans to reopen it as CobornsDelivers beginning in October. Customers who used the service should be able to reactivate their accounts with Coborn's and access their past order histories. SimonDelivers had 19,000 customers when it ceased operations, reported TwinCities.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

In the four-county capital region of California, Wal-Mart's stores posted the biggest gain in market share of any grocery chain through the first half of the year, according to new data from Trade Dimensions Inc., reported The Sacramento Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Jim ‘N Nick's Bar-B-Q chain signed a contract with Distribution Market Advantage, a national distribution network, reported MyIDAccess. Full Story

International Flavors & Fragrances developed a new range of flavors, including boiled white and dark meat, skin, roasted and grilled flavors, that claim to capture the simple taste of chicken without additives, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story

A small but growing number of brewers, beer experts, and importers are turning toward well-made low-alcohol beers. For example, Kelso of Brooklyn features an ale with a 3.5% alcohol content, reported The New York Times on the Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Organic muesli maker Muddy Cook launched Raspberry Crockles, a toasted puffed muesli product for children made from organically grown whole grains, rice, spelt and quinoa, with apple puree, apple juice and freeze-dried raspberries. Full Story

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is offering a 'grill pack' with nearly five pounds of high quality beef patties, mild pork sausages, and lightly seasoned chicken, as well as a 12-pack of Fresh & Easy's Taurino Cerveza beer, for under $10 through Labor Day weekend. Full Story

International News

Chiquita entered into a joint venture with Shanghai-based Haitong Food Group Co. Ltd. to process, sell and market "value added" fresh produce such as fresh packaged salads, fresh cut fruits and vegetables, and fresh chilled beverages in China. Under the agreement, Chiquita will provide limited capital investment and have majority ownership of the joint venture company, Zhejiang Chiquita-Haitong Food Company Limited, which will operate food processing operations in Cixi, China. Full Story

Canadian meat inspectors failed to learn crucial lessons from a deadly listeria outbreak a decade ago, according to experts. At the Maple Leaf plant behind the listeria outbreak, a single federal inspector was relegated to auditing company paperwork and was working with several other plants, reported The Globe and Mail. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Canada's Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is promoting its locally-grown produce section. Through Sept. 12, the company will offer 150 to 180 Canadian produce items during the peak of harvest season. In 2007, Loblaw purchased $750 million of Canadian produce, approximately 25% of its total produce selection. Full Story

The Swiss bakery Hiestand and Irish group IAWS merger was completed after Hiestand shareholders voted 91.3% in favor of the move. The new conglomerate is named Aryzta and will be owned by 83.3% of IAWS shareholders, reported Food Navigator Europe. Full Story

Health News

Nuts, corn, and popcorn may lower the risk of the digestive disorder diverticulitis, contrary to what has been suspected, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reported CBSNEWS.com. Full Story

A Vitamin D deficiency increases the probability of hip fractures among menopausal women by up to 70%, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story

Washington News

New country of origin labeling laws taking effect next month will impact food prices, according to Bill Greer, director of communications for the Food Marketing Institute. USDA estimated it will take $2.52 billion for retailers, producers, and intermediaries to comply in the first year and estimates it will cost food retailers $26,149 per store to put in systems to comply with the law, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Whole Foods Market asked the Federal Trade Commission not to select a commissioner to serve as administrative law judge to preside over the FTC's antitrust proceedings against the Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger, according to The Deal.com. Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch is currently slated to hold a hearing on Sept. 8. Full Story

A California Court of Appeals ruled in favor of California employers over employee meal breaks. At the center of the litigation is Brinker International, as the chain was sued by five workers for meal break violations, including improperly requiring employees to take early meal breaks, failing to make sure they took timely meal breaks, and altering employee time cards, reported The Fresno Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop for its ongoing petroleum market manipulation rulemaking. Commission staff anticipate exploring a variety of topics at the workshop, including the bases for the proposed rule; the meaning of fraud and deception under the proposed rule; the element of intent under the proposed rule; and whether proving a violation of the proposed rule should require a showing of price effects, and, if so, how those effects might be demonstrated. Full Release, Proposed Rule

Market News

Monsanto Co., Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Deere & Co. agreed to collaborate on research to explore ways to turn crop residues into feed and bioenergy products. The companies plan to work together to identify environmentally and economically sustainable methods to harvest, store, and transport corn stover cobs, stalks, and leaves. Full Story

Modesto, CA based-Foster Farms Dairy is changing its brand name to Crystal effective Sept. 1. The new name will go on fluid milk, butter, ice cream, and other products that Foster Farms processes and makes at its plants in Modesto and in Fresno, reported The Modesto Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

In California, 53 of the state's 58 counties are eligible for federal government assistance because of drought, reported California Farm Bureau.

By 2009, nearly all of the 2,800 wild, rare, and domesticated grapes in a California genebank will have had their genetic fingerprint taken, according to Agricultural Research Service geneticists. These fingerprints may help grape breeders pinpoint plants in the collection that have unusual traits. Full Story

After seven years of discussions, an agreement was reached to build a new state-of-the-art $217 million produce terminal in Philadelphia. Construction of the market will take about 23 months, which would place the opening in mid-2010, and will be fully enclosed to preserve the cold chain, reported The Produce News. Full Story

Rose petal extracts may promote pigment retention in canned strawberries, according to new research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Small concentrations of the rose's "co-pigments" significantly extended the lifetime of the anthocyanin compounds in strawberries responsible for the fruit's color, reported Food Navigator Europe. Full Story

California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura is promoting the Native Pollinators In Agriculture Work Group as the honeybee hive collapse continues. Secretary Kawamura is examining real world opportunities to enhance pollination services and profitability with native pollinators, such as native bumblebees, moths, and fruit bats. Full Story

Quarantines for exotic pests were declared in two California regions. A 75-sq. mile area in Los Angeles County was designated an Oriental fruit fly quarantine zone, and in Napa and Sonoma counties, a quarantine zone is being established for the light brown apple moth after two were found in traps. Because of this, 55 farmers in the zone must have their winegrapes inspected before shipment, reported California Farm Bureau.

USDA invited comments on a temporary suspension of the order provision requiring periodic continuance referenda under the Florida citrus marketing order. Full Notice

USDA proposed to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow fresh table grapes from Chile to be imported into the continental United States under a systems approach. Full Notice

NMFS will delay the opening of the commercial and non-commercial fisheries in the main Hawaiian Islands for seven deepwater bottomfish species. Full Notice