Industry News

Food volume has been negative for four of the past five months, according to Nielsen Co. data from Sanford C. Bernstein. Private-label shares started picking up at a faster pace in the four weeks ended Aug. 6. As prices went up 6.3% in the period, volume declined 3.5%, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

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The Top 75 limited-service burger chains saw their sales grow 1.6% last year, reaching $65 billion, according to Technomic's Top 75 Limited-Service Burger Chains Restaurant Report. More than half of the Top 75 burger chains are now fast-casual brands. McDonald's is the driver of sales growth within the category, offsetting declines by other large burger chains, while unit growth is primarily coming from emerging brands as they continue to take share from both limited and full-service restaurants. Full Story

Starbucks Corporation's coffee K-Cup Portion Packs for the Keurig Single Cup Brewing system will be available throughout grocery stores and specialty retailers in the U.S. starting in November. Starbucks coffee K-Cup Portion Packs will be available in Canada CPG channels in March 2012 and through Starbucks and GMCR's direct-to-consumer websites in August 2012. Availability at Starbucks retail stores in the U.S. and Canada is targeted for later in 2012. Full Story

View Today! Breakfast sales are slow in supermarkets, reports the Aug. 30 edition of the Lempert Report, featuring Phil Lempert. Click here to view.

Purchase Today! 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.

Multi-Color Corporation agreed to acquire 100% ownership of York Label Group to strengthen its position in the Food & Beverage; Wine & Spirit; and Home & Personal Care label markets in North America and Chile. The approximate purchase price is $356 million. The deal is expected to close on or about Oct. 3. Full Story

Winn Dixie will spend approximately $125 million on its remodeling program and new store development. The chain expects to complete 17 transformational format remodels in fiscal 2012 and to begin to build the pipeline for remodels and new store development for fiscal 2013. Full Story

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

Food Institute News

Purchase Today! The Food Institute's 231-page 2011 Almanac of Canned Vegetables reports five-years of data, including acreage, production, consumption, as well as imports and exports. This publication, produced exclusively by FI analysts, uses information from various sources such as USDA, the U.S. Census Bureau and SymphonyIRI and puts everything in one place - just for you. To learn more and purchase, click here.

Razorback Farms, Inc. Springdale, AR -based Razorback Farms Inc. has been supplying raw products and custom harvesting throughout the Midwest, South & East since 1966. Razorback Farms provides regular snap beans, European beans, wax beans, Italian beans; spinach & other cole crops; sweet corn on the cob & cut kernels from mobile-processing method. Off-season English Pea production; harvesting; preliminary cleaning/cooling, refrigerated transport. To learn more about this 50-year Food Institute member, please call: 479-756-6141. Interested in seeing your company featured here? Email us for more details.

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International News

Some 33 locations in a 62-mile radius of the crippled Fukuskima Daiichi nuclear plant had cesium-137 in excess of 1.48 million becquerels per square meter. The first comprehensive survey of soil contamination also found another 132 locations had a combined amount of cesium 137/134 over 555,000 becquerels per square meter, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Health News

Individuals who eat chocolate regularly may be lowering their risk for heart disease, according to a study published in BMJ. However, experts state it should be consumed in moderation, reported HealthDay. Full Story

Washington News

The final compliance guide on the use of video or other electronic monitoring or recording equipment in federally inspected establishments is available from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), according to a notice to be published in the Federal Register. FSIS made changes to the final compliance guide based on comments received on the draft guide. FSIS posted this final compliance guide, which makes clearer which video records are subject to routine access by FSIS. Such records would include HACCP and Sanitation SOP records and records associated with other programs that are prerequisites to HACCP. Pre-Publication Notice

Market News

The 2011-12 corn and soybean marketing years will be characterized by the need to reduce consumption of both crops, but the magnitude of those needed reductions are not yet known and the prices needed to make those cuts will depend on the strength of underlying demand, stated a University of Illinois agricultural economist. "Based on the most recent USDA projections, and the assumption that year-ending stocks need to be maintained at or above 5% of consumption, corn use would need to be reduced by only about 30 million bushels, or 0.2%, during the year ahead," reported Southeast Farm Press. Full Story

The arrival of Irene at the start of North Carolina's crop harvest season was the worst possible timing for most farmers, according to the state's Agriculture Commissioner. Though numbers are still pending, Hurricane Irene caused serious losses to North Carolina food crops including soybeans, sweet potatoes and corn. Poultry and hog farms lost power, cutting off ventilation and cooling systems. In some cases, backup generators were flooded, reported Reuters. Full Story