Industry News

Salt mentions on major chain and independent restaurant menus increased by 144% over the last five years, according to Technomic's MenuMonitor analysis. Full Story

New! The Sept. 1 edition of the Lempert Report, hosted by Phil Lempert, takes a look at the IFIC Functional Foods Survey. Click here to view.

The University of North Texas opened an all-vegan full-service campus cafeteria. The hall, believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S., does not serve any animal products, including meat, milk or eggs, reported Reuters. Full Story

Brands should think of Facebook as a loyalty program, reported Advertising Age. Some 117 brands have at least a million fans, with 40 more on pace to join this year. About 84% of a typical brand's Facebook fans are existing customers, according to DDB Worldwide and Opinionway Research. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Google began displaying geo-targeted daily deal offers on Google.com's homepage, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Restaurant Roundup: Krispy Kreme launched three Krispy Kreme Signature Coffee Blends at participating U.S. and Canada locations. Full Story ... The National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index stood at 99.7 in July, down from 100.6 in June and the lowest level in 11 months. Full Story ... Noodles & Company signed a development agreement with franchise group Hartford Noodles, LLC for several Connecticut locations over the next five years. Full Story ... Subway will open at least five new "green" eco-restaurants, each designed with environmentally friendly aspects to reduce energy, water and waste consumption. Full Story ... Denny's introduced the "Let's Get Cheesy!" menu. Full Story

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

Food Institute News

The Consumer Federation of America will host the 34th Annual National Food Policy Conference in Washington, DC. The event, to be held Oct. 3 and 4, is co-sponsored by The Food Institute. This year's conference will focus on key issues facing consumers, the food industry, and government and will analyze the impact of federal budget cuts on government food programs; examine reauthorization of the 2012 Farm Bill; explore key nutrition initiatives; and discuss the next steps in food safety. Speakers and panelists will examine how the global food system must evolve to feed a growing world population and examine consumer food priorities and trends. Please click here to register for the conference or contact Sally Karwowski at 202-939-1005 for more information.

National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association Founded in 1945, the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) is uniquely positioned as an all-industry trade association for frozen and refrigerated foods. NFRA brings value to its members through the Executive Conference held each April and the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention in October. More than 450 member companies benefit from the business appointments and networking at these two events. To learn more about this Food Institute member, please visit: www.nfraweb.org. Interested in seeing your company featured here? Email us for more details.

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International News

Ethiopia is expanding its commodities exchange to improve its own food-distribution system. In its first three years the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange centralized the trading of coffee, sesame and navy beans. Trading volume in the last fiscal year more than doubled to 504,000 metric tons. The exchange also is spurring farmers to grow better-quality coffee, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story

Health News

Approximately one-half of the U.S. population consumes sugar drinks on any given day, according to a data brief from CDC. Males consume more sugar drinks than females while teenagers and young adults consume more sugar drinks than other age groups. 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.

A couple of servings of potatoes per day can lower blood pressure as much as oatmeal without causing weight gain, depending on how they are prepared, according to research funded by USDA and presented at an American Chemical Society meeting, reported HealthDay. Full Story

Washington News

California's governor proposed a package of compromise measures to protect farmworkers from grower interference. The governor remains opposed to "card-check" legislation for farmworkers unions, reported The Sacramento Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Market News

Fiscal 2012 agricultural exports are projected at $137 billion, the same as the 2011 forecast, according to USDA. The forecast for 2012 imports is $105 billion, 11% higher than 2011. The revised U.S. import bill for 2011 is $94.5 billion, a 20% jump from 2010. Full Story