Industry News

The J. M. Smucker Company decreased list prices for most of its U.S. coffee products by an average of 6%. The decrease, driven by declines in the green coffee futures market, primarily will affect coffee sold under the Folgers, Dunkin' Donuts and Folgers Gourmet Selections brand names. 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.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. purchased a $48.2 million stake in Dollar General Corp. The company reduced its stake in Kraft Foods Inc. by about 5.5% to 99.5 million shares, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story

U.S. scientists discovered a naturally-occurring agent that destroys the bacteria that causes meat, fish, eggs and dairy products to rot. Researchers at the University of Minnesota reported that bisin reduces the growth of bacteria including E. coli, salmonella and listeria, reported Fox News. Full Story

View Today! The Aug. 16 edition of the Lempert Report, featuring Phil Lempert, discusses the healthfulness of vegetarian diets. Also, we find ourselves in a cross-channel world. Click here to view.

Meijer is increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables it sources from Midwest farms by 5% this year. Meijer is now the largest purchaser of locally grown apples in its five-state region and increased its volume by 10% since 2009. Full Story

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.

OSI Restaurant Partners plans to expand its Bonefish Grill banner the quickest of any of its concepts. Meanwhile, Outback Steakhouse may open restaurants for lunch on weekends and added wood-fired grill items to its menu. OSI may hold an initial public stock offering, reported The Tampa Tribune. Full Story

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Food Institute News

Now Available in Print and PDF! The Food Institute's Almanac of Canning, Freezing, Preserving Industries 2010/2011, a 1,000+ page compilation of essential information, will save you time, put current facts and figures at your fingertips and answer your questions fast. The Almanac contains valuable information for businesses to reference quickly and conveniently and includes complete coverage of topics including: FDA Laws and Regulations; Associations and Meetings; USDA Quality Grades; Labeling Laws and Regulations; Raw Product Standards; FDA Product Standards; and USDA Meat Canning Regulations. To learn more and purchase, click here.

Tip Top Canning Company Centrally located in Ohio, Tip Top Canning Company has been producing quality canned tomato products for almost 90 years. Tip Top is owned and operated by fourth generation family members. Strong in private label retail and foodservice, Tip Top offers a wide selection and sizes of canned tomato products including whole peeled, diced stewed, flavored items, sauces, PET ketchup, tomato and vegetable juice. Tip Top is dedicated to quality and superior canned tomato products. To learn more about this Food Institute member, please visit: www.tiptopcanning.com, call: 937-667-3713 or fax: 937-667-3802. Interested in seeing your company featured here? Email us for more details.

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International News

Cargill made a binding offer to acquire animal nutrition company Provimi for an enterprise value of $2.16 billion. Cargill plans to acquire Provimi's worldwide animal nutrition business, which has operations in 26 countries. Full Story

India fully implemented the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The Act officially repeals regulatory framework established by the previously existing eight food laws, consolidating them into the Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations 2011 under a single regulator, The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Full Story

Washington News

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire asked USDA to determine whether to designate the entire state a farm disaster area due to weather-related productions delays and crop losses. The delays are the result of cold and wet weather conditions throughout the spring and summer. Full Story

Market News

Orlando citrus consultant Elizabeth Steger predicts growers will produce 142 million boxes of oranges in 2011-2012, or 2% higher than last season's crop of 139 million boxes. Louis Dreyfus Citrus Inc. was slightly more optimistic at 146 million orange boxes, a 5% increase, reported The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

A mild California summer has been a boon to the state's kiwifruit grower-shippers. The California Kiwifruit Commission's preliminary crop estimate was conservative, and "it has all the potential to be very close to or as big as last year's volume" of 8.5 million tray equivalents, noted the assistant manager of the commission, reported The Packer Online. Full Story