Industry News

U.S. eating and drinking place sales surged over 10% in December compared to a year earlier, according to Food Institute analysis of just-released government data. That is the first double-digit increase in foodservice sales since March of 2006 - 69 months ago. This put overall 2011 foodservice sales 6.1% above 2010, outpacing the 5.5% increase of retail food store sales for 2011. Full Story (FI Membership Required)

View Today! The Food Institute provides information on nutrition labels in the Jan. 12 edition of the Lempert Report, hosted by Phil Lempert. Click here to view.

Delhaize America will close 126 stores and retire its Bloom banner. The chain will close 113 underperforming Food Lion stores, primarily in markets in which the company has the least store density; convert 64 Bloom and Bottom Dollar Food stores in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia to Food Lion stores; close seven underperforming Bloom stores and six underperforming Bottom Dollar Food stores in overlapping Food Lion markets; convert one Food Lion store in Florida to a Harveys store; discontinue operations of its distribution center located in Clinton, TN; and accelerate the roll out of the Food Lion brand strategy in an additional 600 to 700 stores. All affected stores will close within 30 days. Full Story

Food prices fell in December, with the FAO Food Price Index dropping 2.4% from November. At 211 points, the Index was 11.3% below its peak in February 2011. The decline was driven by sharp falls in international prices of cereals, sugar and oils due to bumper 2011 crops coupled with slowing demand and a stronger U.S. dollar. Full Story

Subway plans to open 2,500 outlets in the U.S. and Canada in 2012. Full Story

General Mills reformulated more than 50 products across its portfolio of Big G cereals, with the products displaying a white check that indicates the predominance of whole grain over any other single ingredient. The reformulations include Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Total, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cheerios. Full Story

Latest sales & earnings for food related companies (Updated Daily - FI Membership Required)

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Food Institute News

Just Released - Purchase Today! The Food Institute's 234-page 2011 edition of Almanac of Dried Fruit and Nuts reports yearly data through the end of 2010 and the 2010/2011 marketing year. A variety of data is included, such as acreage, consumption and production, as well as imports and exports. This new edition contains exclusive Food Institute price trend data collected directly from industry sources as well as data from the U.S. Census Bureau and various industry associations. The book includes data on: almonds, apples, apricots, berries, Brazil nuts, cashews, coconuts, dates, figs, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peaches, peanuts, pistachios, prunes, raisins, walnuts and several tropical fruits. To view the Table of Contents, click here. To purchase, click here.

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International News

Grain companies in Canada are preparing for the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board. Richardson International Ltd. is expanding its storage capacity to boost shipping and Bunge Ltd. is considering expanding its Canadian operations, reported The Globe and Mail. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Health News

Consuming poultry lowers the risk of stroke while eating red meat raises the risk, claims a study published in Stroke. People who ate the most chicken or turkey each day had a 13% reduced risk of stroke compared with those who ate barely more than a serving a day, reported Reuters. Full Story

Washington News

Cola-Cola Co. alerted FDA that it detected low levels of the fungicide Carbendazim in orange juice made by Coke and its competitors. The company, maker of Simply Orange and Minute Maid, would not say which brands contained the fungicide, but both contain juice from Brazil. Combined, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc. held almost a two-thirds share of the U.S. orange-juice market in the past year, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., reported Fox News. Full Story

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPS) and Dr Pepper Bottling Co. of Dublin, Texas, resolved all litigation over the Dr Pepper trademark and distribution rights. Under the terms of their agreement, DPS purchased all of the Dublin bottler's sales and distribution operations and related assets, as well as the rights to distribute Dr Pepper and other DPS brands in the six-county territory previously served by Dublin. The former Dr Pepper bottler will continue to produce other soft drinks at its bottling facility. Full Story

Market News

The Florida all orange forecast, at 147 million boxes, is down 2% from the December forecast but up 5% from last season's final utilization. Florida FCOJ yield forecast for the 2011-2012 season is 1.56 gallons per box at 42.0 degrees Brix, down 3% from the December forecast, and down 2% from last season's final yield. The 2011-2012 U.S. grapefruit crop is forecast at 1.15 million tons, down 2% from the previous forecast and down 9% from last season's final utilization. USDA Report