Industry News

Food-at-home prices are now projected to rise as much as 5% this year, driven by higher cereal, dairy and fat & oil prices, according to the latest forecast from USDA's Economic Research Service. Food-away-from home cost projections were unchanged, indicating a 3% to 4% advance. Full Story

Casual dining chain restaurants face subtle and complex challenges that extend beyond the current economic climate, which has cut into consumers' discretionary spending, according to a recent study by Technomic. In fact, it could be argued that casual dining chains have become victims of their own success. "For one, many chains have overbuilt units, with expansion rates averaging 5% over the past four years even as sales growth was slowing," said Ron Paul, president of Technomic. "Restaurant supply now exceeds consumer demand. On top of that, many consumers tell us that traditional casual dining chains lack differentiation, that ‘they all look alike.'" Full Story

Searches for recipes using inexpensive ingredients increased by 91% on Allrecipes.com over the past three months, according to the website's latest Monthly Measuring Cup report. Ground beef, pasta and rice are among the least-expensive but most-used ingredients. Searches for make-at-home versions of popular ethnic restaurant dishes have also spiked, reported Supermarket News. Full Story

An affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. acquired the business of Worsley Operating Companies and various affiliated entities. Worsley operates 124 convenience stores in North and South Carolina under the Scotchman, Youngs', and S-E names. Separately, another affiliate of Sun Capital signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Li'l Cricket Food Stores, Inc., which operates 88 convenience stores in South Carolina. Full Story

Ruth's Chris Steak House Inc. wants to change its name to Ruth's Hospitality Group Inc., in order to better represent the business after the addition of Mitchell's Fish Market from its $92 million acquisition of restaurants from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC, reported Business First of Columbus. Full Story (Free Registration Required), SEC Filing

In response to rising food prices, consumers will forgo splurge items, such as snacks, to save money. Agree Disagree

Food Institute News

Food Business Mergers & Acquisitions 2007 is now available from the Food Institute! This annual publication contains analysis of merger & acquisition activity in over 25 different categories ranging from food processors and restaurants to retailers and investment firms & banks. The book presents the specifics of each of the deals that took place in 2007, plus an overall comparison of the activity over the past five years, providing valuable insight into one of the most influential aspects of the food industry: consolidation. For more information, click here.

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International News

Premium Brands Income Fund is targeting a number of small acquisitions in 2008, some of which are in markets it believes are less affected by the U.S. economic slowdown. The Vancouver-based fund, which distributes foods under such brands as Grimm's deli products and McSweeney's meat snacks, talked about acquisitions after reporting a 51% increase in revenues for 2007, according to The Canadian Press. 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.

Health News

Consuming chocolate containing plant sterols and cocoa flavanols can lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels, according to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition. Plant sterols, natural compounds found in certain vegetable oils, cereals, fruits and vegetables, were previously shown to be safe and effective in lowering cholesterol levels, and this study adds to that body of research, reported Food Production Daily. Full Story

Washington News

The data breach at Hannaford Brothers Cos. was caused by a "new and sophisticated" method in which software was secretly installed on servers at every one of its grocery stores. The unauthorized intrusion stemmed from software that intercepted card data from customers as they paid with plastic at store checkout counters, and sent the data overseas, according to a lawyer for Hannaford, reported The Boston Globe. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

How Can You Comply With Complex Food Safety Regulations? The Food Institute's HACCP & U.S. Food Safety Guide - 2nd Edition provides clear explanations of the recent regulations and requirements issued by FDA and USDA regarding the handling and sanitation of food products. Authored by Olsson, Frank & Weeda, P.C., this guide includes information on applying HACCP plans in the plant, mandatory HACCP systems in general and specific HACCP requirements for seafood, meat & poultry. For details, click here.

Market News

A virus called infectious salmon anemia, or ISA, is killing millions of salmon in the fish farms off Chile's southern shores, dooming fish destined for export to Japan, Europe and the U.S., reported The Seattle Times. The new virus is spreading, but it has primarily affected the fish of Marine Harvest, a Norwegian company that is the world's largest producer of farm-raised salmon and exports about 20% of the salmon that come from Chile. Full Story