Industry News

Commodity food prices are rising as a result of improved worldwide diets and limited agricultural supplies. Cattle herds are smaller, and weather problems, including floods, droughts and wildfires, hurt crop output in countries including Russia and Australia. However, due to unemployment and other issues, retailers "have been hesitant to pass on to the consumer higher" wholesale costs of food, according to Food Institute president Brian Todd, reported The Christian Science Monitor. Full Story

TreeHouse Foods, Inc.'s Bay Valley Foods will close its Springfield, MO-based pickle plant. Most plant production will cease in August, with full plant closure occurring by December. Production will be transferred to other plants. Full Story

New! How we choose our foods at home and in restaurants is discussed in the Mar. 1 edition of the Lempert Report, hosted by Phil Lempert. Today's edition also examines serotonin and carbs. Click here to view.

About 66% of restaurant-goers are interested in healthier breakfast options, according to Mintel. Some two-fifths of consumers who eat breakfast out (39% on weekdays and 40% on weekends) claim healthy breakfast options are the most important factor when selecting a breakfast spot. Breakfast sandwiches are the most popular on weekdays with 42% of restaurant-goers, while platter meals are the favorite on weekends with 43%. Full Story

Landshire Inc. bought Mom's Food Products Inc., a company that makes sandwiches for convenience stores and vending machines. With the deal, Landshire increased its customer count to 12,000 convenience stores and builds a stronger presence in the state of Texas, reported St. Louis Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Tops Markets debuted a 27,000-sq. ft. store, its first store in the Buffalo Niagara region in eight years. The store is half the size of a conventional Tops Market and uses a design that Tops executives believe could help the chain grow in the coming years, reported The Buffalo News. Full Story

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

Food Institute News

Purchase Today! Demographics of Consumer Food Spending 2010 contains the food industry's most reliable analysis of the Consumer Expenditure Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, providing an easy-to-read breakdown of spending on food overall, food at-home (in 24 categories & subcategories including beef, poultry, fruits & vegetables, dairy products and bakery products), food-away-from-home and alcoholic beverages. Topics covered include age, income, career, education, race, gender and regions of the U.S. (including major metro areas). To learn more and order a copy, click here.

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International News

Sales growth at UK grocers rose 3.9% in the 12 weeks ended Feb. 20, but slowed from the previous period despite higher prices, according to Kantar Worldpanel. The decline from the prior period, which registered 3.9% growth, added to signs of growing caution among consumers since the start of the year. Grocery inflation also picked up to 3.7% over the 12-week period from 3.1% last month, reported Reuters. Full Story

Health News

Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages such as fruit drinks are associated with higher blood pressure levels in adults, according to research published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. Higher blood pressure was more pronounced in people who consumed high levels of both sugar and sodium. Full Story

Washington News

A single U.S. food safety agency should be considered by policy makers, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. The report on duplicative government efforts found that 18 federal programs spent $63.5 billion on food and nutrition assistance in 2008 but the effectiveness of 11 of those programs is not clear because they have not been well researched. Full Report (345 pages)

Utah's Senate passed a proposal to double the sales tax on food and offset it by reducing sales tax on other purchases. SB270 would set the state tax rate at 4.35 on all goods, more than doubling the sales tax on food and cutting the rate on other goods, reported The Salt Lake Tribune. Full Story

The Daily Update is a substantially abbreviated version of Today In Food. You can get a subscription to Today In Food, which usually has over 30 news items each day, as well as access to the archives for just $49.95 per year. Click here to sign up.

Market News

Global farm prices, including wheat, soybeans and sugar, may drop from next year as farmers boost production after prices soared, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural & Resource Economics & Sciences, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story