Industry News

Food recalls in the U.S. increased during the second quarter of the year, according to the quarterly ExpertRECALL Index. Undeclared allergens were the most common cause, accounting for more than 45% of all food recalls. Salmonella was the second leading cause of food recalls during the quarter. Full Story

Recent economic turmoil may prompt companies holding cash to curb spending and bolster their holdings further, according to The Wall Street Journal. Cash held by non-financial firms in S&P's 500-stock index are up 59% from the third quarter of 2008 to some $1.2 trillion. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required) Meanwhile, small businesses are also taking action, noted The Journal. The owner of Finz seafood restaurant in Salem, MA expects customers will opt for lower priced wines with dinner and has put off spending $50,000 to enclose a porch area until at least next year. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

View Today! Store brands are not as hot as they once were, according to the Aug. 11 edition of the Lempert Report, hosted by Phil Lempert. Click here to view.

Now Available! The Food Institute and Willard Bishop presented a one-hour webinar, The Future of Food Retailing 2011, which provided unique and unparalleled insights into retailer strategies, identified specific actions that Walmart and others are taking and detailed intended and unintended consequences of retailers' actions. To learn more and purchase, click here.

Americans' favorite ice cream flavors are: chocolate (28%); vanilla (26%); and cookie dough/cookies and cream (22%), according to a Harris Poll conducted by Harris Interactive. Other top choices are: butter pecan/Swiss almond (19%); mint chocolate chip (15%); strawberry (12%); and rocky road (11%). Full Story

About 40 million American households purchased a Velveeta product within the last year, according to Nielsen data cited by Kraft. The company is launching Velveeta Cheesy Skillets, a line of just-add-meat pasta dinner kits, in four varieties. Velveeta spent $7.6 million on advertising for all its products in 2010, up from $4.2 million the year prior, according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP, reported The New York Times on the Web. Full Story (NYT Subscription Required)

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.

Overhill Farms, Inc. entered into a sales, distribution and co-manufacturing agreement with Bellisio Foods, Inc. Under direction of Overhill Farms, Bellisio will provide sales management services for the Boston Market frozen food line. Bellisio will also manufacture approximately 50% of the Boston Market products. Full Story

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

Food Institute News

Third Session to be Held in September! The Food Institute and OWF Law are offering a year-long webinar series on FDA implementation of the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The third session, scheduled for September, will probe FDA rules governing preventative controls. Twelve one-hour webinars will be offered throughout the course of the next year. The first two sessions have been recorded and are available to all that register. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Little Crow Foods Now in the fourth generation of family ownership, Warsaw, IN-based Little Crow Foods still believes in building long-term relationships with their customers and consumers by providing quality, taste and value in every package opened. For over a century, Little Crow Foods has produced their own brands of dry blended food products, as well as many products for other food companies. To learn more about this 29-year Food Institute member, please visit: www.littlecrowfoods.com. Interested in seeing your company featured here? Email us for more details.

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International News

Canada's federal government will stop inspecting provincial meat plants. The end of the federal inspections will affect about 100 provincial facilities where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has had an arrangement for decades to inspect provincial slaughterhouses and processing plants on their behalf, reported Montreal Gazette. Full Story

Health News

Eating red meat, especially processed products, increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Individuals can lower their diabetes risk by replacing red meat with proteins such as nuts, whole grains or low-fat dairy products, reported HealthDay. Full Story

Washington News

Florida dairy farmers will oppose a proposed new federal dairy support program that would penalize them for overproduction when farm prices fall below a profitable level, reported The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Market News

Corn production is forecast at 12.9 billion bushels, up 4% from 2010. If realized, this will be the third largest production total on record for the U.S. Peanut production is forecast at 3.61 billion-lbs., down 13% from last year. Area for harvest is expected to total 1.12 million acres, down slightly from June and 11% lower than 2010. Meanwhile, U.S. dry edible bean production is forecast at 20.5 million cwt for 2011, down 36% from last year. USDA Crop Production

U.S. wheat supplies for 2011/12 are lowered 30 million bushels this month as higher forecast winter wheat production is more than offset by lower area and production for durum and other spring wheat. Soybean supplies for 2011/12 are reduced as lower forecast production is only partly offset by higher beginning stocks. WASDE Report