Industry News

Consumers on the East Coast have been and will continue to stock up on consumables and emergency survival kit items ahead of Hurricane Irene's arrival. Storm-related consequences are likely for many food retailers, depending on which route the storm takes. Click here for the latest NOAA projections on the web. Please note that this update may be delayed early next week due to potential power outages.

Harris Teeter closed three stores in North Carolina in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. The company's Special Situations team is closely monitoring the hurricane's path along the eastern shores and is preparing for a full response by pre-positioning tractor trailers with generators and dry ice at key distribution points as well as stocking stores in advance with disaster supplies including water and ice. Full Story

Gruma acquired tortilla maker Casa de Oro Foods for $20 million, a move that will help the company reduce transportation costs, reported Reuters. Gruma is looking to expand in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Full Story

Hormel Foods Corp. is looking to raise prices and reduce expenses to offset rising costs. The company expects profit margins in its Jennie-O turkey business to be impacted in coming months due to the price of corn. Hormel has already raised prices to cope with rising costs for ingredients, oil and other commodities, reported Reuters. 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.

Doc Popcorn's founder sees a market for 1,000 units in the U.S. and is in discussions that could lead to Doc Popcorn's first international locations. The company currently has 30 open units, either storefronts, kiosks or carts, and more than 175 in development in 22 states and the District of Columbia, reported The Denver Post. Full Story

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

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.

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International News

Crown Holdings, Inc. will build two beverage can plants in China and add a second line to a facility currently being constructed in the country. The new facilities will be located in Zhengzhou and Changchun. Each plant will have an initial annual production capacity of 720 million two-piece aluminum beverage cans. Full Story

Health News

According to a team of international public health experts reporting in The Lancet, the U.S. government should make changing the food environment a policy priority, including making healthful foods cheaper and less-healthful foods more expensive largely through tax strategies. Based on current trends, half of the adults in the U.S. will be obese by 2030 due to changes over the past century in the way food is made and marketed, reported The Washington Post. Full Story (Free Registration Required), Abstracts

Washington News

Under an FDA Import Alert, papayas from Mexico may be denied admission into the U.S. unless the importer shows they are not contaminated with Salmonella. FDA may consider five consecutive commercial shipments over a period of time, analyzed from a validated laboratory, as being adequate for removal from the Import Alert. FDA and Mexican officials are collaborating on laboratory methodologies used in Mexico for testing fresh papayas for Salmonella. Full Story, Full Alert

The Food Safety Modernization Act will "prevent contamination," according to an FDA senior adviser who presented the Act to Florida's packinghouses, which process and ship 32.5 million cartons of fresh citrus worldwide. About 70% of the state's tangerine crop and more than 30% of its grapefruit are sold on the fresh market, reported The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Third Session Approaching! 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 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.

Market News

Processors of the five leading vegetables (tomatoes, sweet corn, snap beans, green peas and cucumbers for pickles) contracted for 1.02 million acres in 2011, down 8% from a year earlier. Despite lower area, large carryover stocks and weak prices for tomato products, contract output of tomatoes is expected to be 1% above a year ago due to record-high yields. ERS Report