Industry News

Some 89% of consumers use coupons, according to research from the Promotion Marketing Association's Coupon Council. Some 97% of primary shoppers use coupons at supermarkets, and report an average of 7% savings on their grocery bill when they are utilized. The typical family saves between $5.20 and $9.60 per week using coupons. Full Story

Hispanic adults are twice as likely as non-Hispanics to reward their children's good behavior with salty snacks (41% versus 19%), according to Mintel. But salty snack consumption among Hispanic adults is low, possibly due to traditional food preferences. Of five snacks - potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, nuts and corn/tortilla chips/cheese snacks - only 65% of Hispanics report eating three or more regularly (versus 80% of the general population). Full Story

Wal-Mart customers are purchasing items at the store to sustain their standard of living while cutting back on other activities, according to chief marketing officer Stephen Quinn. For instance, Ben & Jerry's ice cream sales are up, as premium ice cream is still cheaper than going to an ice cream parlor, reported AZCentral.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

More than 1,000 shops, groceries, cafes, and restaurants now sell gelato, according to PreGel America chief executive Marco Casol. Sales at the wholly owned subsidiary of one of Italy's gelato ingredient suppliers has grown 30 to 35% annually since 2002, reported The New York Times on the Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Eighty-six percent of New York City restaurant users consider their city's recently enacted menu-labeling law to be a positive move, according to a survey completed by Technomic, Inc. A vast majority of the same consumers believe that having calorie counts on restaurant menus helps them make more informed ordering choices and will have a beneficial overall impact on consumer health and nutrition. Full Story

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

Specialty food distributor of branded and private label gourmet foods and confections Wythe-Will Distributing, LLC's management team partnered with JPB Capital Partners to acquire the company from the Hunt Private Equity Group. The management will continue to run the operations and will lead the execution of the company's strategic growth plan, reported Market Watch. Full Story

Further tests are needed before stevia is used in food or drink, according to University of California scientists. Some variants of the sweetener were not shown to cause cancer in rats, but several genotoxicity studies found that stevioside and steviol cause mutations, chromosomal damage, and DNA breakage. The slightly different Coca-Cola and PepsiCo version, rebiana, was tested on rats, but not mice, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story

Cefiore Italian Frozen Yogurt is seeking franchisees to open stores in numerous U.S. cities, including New York, Dallas, Kansas City, and San Francisco. The company currently has more than 30 locations across seven states and three countries. Full Story

President and CEO of Village Pantry Mick Parker is seeking to increase the value of the chain, the first convenience store investment from private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. Mr. Parker is initiating changes on multiple levels, such as store technology, image, merchandising, floor-plans, and fuel supply, reported CSP Daily News. Full Story

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The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P) is partnering with 4D Pharmacy Management Systems, Inc. to administer employer group prescription drug benefits through its Live Better! Wellness Program, which features discounts on generic drugs, OTC items, and a range of grocery products. Employer groups will have access to 4D's nationwide network of over 60,000 pharmacies and as well as special incentives at the A&P's participating banner store Pharmacy Centers. The Live Better! Wellness Program begins managing pharmacy benefits on Jan. 1, 2009. Full Story

A new smoothie and juice bar concept called Roxberry Juice was launched by Brad Davis, a former Zuka and Jamba Juice executive. Roxberry Juice opened its first store in March in American Fork, UT and will open four more stores in the state by the first quarter of 2009. Full Story

Vitiva debuted a high-concentrate rosemary extract for use in functional beverages. The company claims the high-antioxidant ingredient resolves many of the taste, odor, and color issues that make it difficult for food and beverage makers to incorporate it into products, reported Food Navigator Europe. Full Story

Hat Trick Beverages Inc. received an initial proposal to merge with an unnamed privately-held Italian manufacturer of specialty beverage vending equipment. Full Story

Small business owners are some of the hardest working people in society, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Over 70% of adults think small business owners work harder than government workers, large corporation employees, and corporate CEOs. Full Story

Diamond Foods, Inc. added Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds and Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews to its snack line. The Emerald snack line expanded from 14 to 26 products since its national introduction in August 2004. Full Story

Extracts from sedge plants are rich in antioxidants and could be an alternative to synthetic additives, according to new research from Italy. Methanol extracts from the plant were found to be similar in antioxidant activity to established antioxidants ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, and BHT, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, reported Food Navigator Europe. Full Story

NutraCea, Omega Protein, and the Wright Group reported no damage from Hurricane Gustav and had little or no operational interruptions, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story

A starch-rich powder made from bananas could boost the nutritional content of pasta, claim researchers from Spain and Mexico. The addition of flour made from unripe bananas increased the resistant starch content by more than 12% , without adversely affecting quality of the final pasta product, reported Food Navigator Europe. Full Story

FUZE Beverage will introduce its Acai Berry flavored Black & Green Tea beverage nationally this month. Full Story

Green Mountain Coffee launched Revv, an "extra bold" coffee that boasts 27% more coffee and 27% more caffeine. The new coffee blend is now available by the cup at all Exxon Mobil Corp. On The Run and Tiger Market convenience stores, reported CSP Daily News. Full Story

Apple Rush's Garden Distributing subsidiary is now selling 10 Pepsi SKUs, including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Sunny Delight. Full Story

International News

Food prices in UK supermarkets and shops increased 8.3% since January, according to an index compiled for the BBC. Meat and fish, up 22.9%, registered the biggest price increases for any one category in the survey. Fresh fruit and vegetables increased 14.7%, reported BBC News. Full Story

The number of Japanese food-safety violation cases is surging, according to a report released by the National Police Agency. The number of food-safety cases involving questioning, arrest or referral to prosecutors totaled 29 during the January-June period, a pace likely to surpass the record of 52 set in 2007, reported The Japan Times. Full Story

Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association and BRI merged to become Campden BRI. Full Story

SinoSweet is opening a new sales office for aspartame in the UK, which it believes will help sales of the sweetener against rival sucralose. SinoSweet claims to be the manufacturer of more than 50% of the aspartame made in China, and the Chinese firm believes it will be able to provide the UK market with an alternative to sucralose, reported Food Navigator Europe. Full Story

PAVA will break ground on a grain fractionation plant for the production of wheat gluten, starches and syrups. The new plant will seek to extract "all valuable components" from the wheat kernel, and is set to begin production by 2010, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story

Monsanto Company received regulatory approval in China for the importation of Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans. Full Story

The EU claims it cannot impose mandatory alcohol regulation across its constituency as Scotland moves closer to potentially adopting new proposals on raising the legal drinking age at off-trade retail outlets, reported Beverage Daily. Full Story

Sweden-based manufacturer of specialty vegetable fats AAK acquired all shares in Rapsona AB, which supplies restaurants, food service, bakeries, small convenience food producers and other customers with a range of products based on vegetable oil. Full Story

Health News

A diet deficient in vitamin B can cause cognitive dysfunction and significantly reduce learning capacity, according to American scientists in research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story, Full Study

Taking a once-daily capsule of fish oil improves survival prospects for patients with heart failure, results of a clinical study showed, reported Reuters. Full Story

Washington News

The Mexican government suspended voluntarily shipments of meat and processed poultry after U.S. officials reported misgivings about the quality of Mexican food processing and inspections, according to an Agriculture Department official, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

Boston health officials initially approved new tobacco control rules that would ban cigarette sales at Boston pharmacies and on college campuses, reported The Boston Globe. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Starway Incorporated initiated a voluntary recall of its EGO brand Preserved Peaches because the product contains undeclared sulfites. Full Story

The Hershey Company initiated a voluntary recall of its Chocolate Shell Topping because it contains undeclared almonds. Full Story

Market News

Produce department sales are up nearly 4%, with vegetables accounting for 48% and fruits 44% of the increase, according to consulting firm the Perishables Group. Fruit sales grew at a faster pace, led in part by interest in organic and exotic fruits. Empty nest and senior couples buy the most produce, followed by families with older children, reported California Farm Bureau.

Florida tomato growers will embark on a $1.2 million marketing campaign in an effort to restore public confidence eroded by this summer's salmonella outbreak. More than three months after FDA first told consumers to stop eating certain kinds of tomatoes, industry growers and distributors claim business is still down as much as 20% from pre-outbreak levels. While the impact of the salmonella outbreak is hard to quantify, sales volumes for Florida tomatoes sold in June reflect a dramatic drop as consumer demand ground to a halt. While Florida tomato growers sold 1.67 million tomatoes during the week of June 1, the following week that number was cut in half and by the week of June 15 that number fell to 191,958, reported Miami Herald. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

After surpassing the 1.0 million metric ton level for the first time in 2007, Canadian broiler chicken production in 2008 is on pace to reach a record 1,030,000 metric tons, almost 2.5% above last year's level. Strong domestic demand for chicken at both retail and foodservice is expected to propel total Canadian broiler chicken production to at least 1,060,000 metric tons during 2009, according to a report from USDA. Full Report

The 2008 California walnut production is forecast at 375,000 tons, up 15% from 2007's production of 325,000 tons. Survey data indicated an average nut set of 1,416 per tree, up 4% from 2007's average of 1,357. Full Report

California figs will be impacted by the state's water shortage. Fig trees must be watered to keep producing fruit, and once farmers exhaust their water allocation, the trees will stop producing, reported California Farm Bureau.

A tomato that can stand up to attack by a damaging virus in greenhouse production systems is being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. ARS plant pathologist Kai-Shu Ling is studying the origins and evolution of Pepino mosaic virus, which can damage tomato fruit, stunt growth and leave the plant vulnerable to other infections. Full Story

The directed fishery for butterfish in the Exclusive Economic Zone will be closed effective Sept. 5, 2008. Full Notice