April 18, 2011

IFDA News

A full year after its enactment as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the expanded 1099 reporting requirement has been repealed. Despite issuing a statement last month that the Administration "strongly opposes the House's offset to pay for this repeal," President Obama signed H.R. 4 into law April 14. The 1099 provision would have added substantial recordkeeping costs to all businesses and IFDA made repeal a top priority. IFDA continues to work with Congress on efforts to repeal the overall healthcare law and begin the process again to focus on reducing costs and creating additional market driven options. For more information, contact the IFDA government relations department.

Operator News

Some 18% of American adults claim they eat pizza at least once a week, including 3% who eat it even more than that, according to a survey from Rasmussen Reports. Among those who eat pizza, 58% have a favorable opinion of Pizza Hut, while 34% view it unfavorably. Papa John's took second place with favorables of 54% and unfavorables of 31%. Full Story

New York has the highest search volume for brunch of all the major U.S. cities, according to Google Insights. Interest in brunch is at its apex in spring, as Easter and Mother's Day are commonly celebrated with a midday meal. Searches for brunch begin to spike in April and drop off in May, reported Chicago Tribune. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The Canadian restaurant industry is slowly improving to pre-recession levels but long-term growth will depend on more product innovation, quality, customer service and convenience, according to the executive director of Canada foodservice at The NPD Group. About 46% of the Canadian population use restaurants on an average day, more than in the past, according to The NPD Group's CREST service. Notably, usage is higher than the U.S. (44%) and only Italy is higher. Full Story

Industry News

The soy food and beverage market declined 16% from 2008 to 2010. While some of this fall is due to the recession and consumers cutting back on premium-priced soy items, competition from other heart healthy foods and soy-free milk alternatives are also challenging the industry and hampering soy sales, according to a report from Mintel and data from SPINS. Mintel expects that the market for soy food and beverages will decline another 17% during 2010 to 2012. Full Story

New! The Apr. 18 edition of the Lempert Report, featuring Phil Lempert, takes another look at organics. Click here to view.

More information from more resources is what consumers want when it comes to getting and receiving timely and detailed information about product recalls, according to Deloitte's 2011 Consumer Food and Product Insight Survey. Although shoppers still primarily hold manufacturers and government entities responsible for communicating recall details, 73% and 69% respectively, internet access and social media are driving consumers to advocacy groups (35% vs. 23% last year) and peers (27% vs. 19% last year) for timely recall information. Full Story

Some 47% of meat sampled were contaminated with S. aureus, and more than half of those bacteria were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics, according to a study from the Translational Genomics Research Institute published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases. DNA testing suggests that the food animals themselves were the major source of contamination. Full Story

Nearly 55% of U.S. executives claim their organization has a formal sustainability strategy in place, according to a KPMG International study, Corporate Sustainability: A progress report. Another 12% are working on a strategy and an additional 19% expect to eventually develop a formal plan. Full Story

Nestle agreed to take a 60% stake in China's Yinlu Foods Group. Yinlu had sales of about $839.6 million in 2010, reported Reuters. Full Story

The private equity arm of Cargill, Black River, is raising a $400 million fund to invest in firms that will benefit from rising Asian demand for meat and vegetables. The proposed Black River Capital Partners (Food) Fund, which already received about $200 million in commitments, expects to invest about half the money in China, reported Reuters. Full Story

Chinese consumers are willing to pay a small premium for more sustainable products. Milk produced with more environmentally-friendly practices could be sold at premiums of 17% to 20%, found a study from Ogilvy & Mather, reported Reuters. Full Story

Mexican retailers plan to take action against a new regulation passed by Mexico City legislators that would bar large retail chains from opening near traditional markets and other neighborhood areas in the capital, the country's retail association Antad stated. The regulation, Norma 29, was submitted by Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and passed Apr. 14 by 43 to 11 by the Federal District Legislative Assembly, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Washington News

The House approved a Republican proposal to overhaul the $65 billion food stamp program by replacing it with capped block grants to states, which would pay for the aid but make it contingent on work or job training, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

A federal judge in Vermont is considering moving forward with a partial settlement of an anti-trust lawsuit in which Dean Foods would pay some Northeast dairy farmers $30 million. U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss may also defer a decision on part of the settlement that would require Dean Foods to change its milk-buying practices in the region for 30 months by buying milk from independent farmers, reported NewsTelegram.com. Full Story

USDA and DOE issued up to $30 million over three to four years that will support research and development in advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. Advanced biofuels produced from these projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 50% compared to fossil fuels. Full Story

Market News

The 13 major potato states held 106 million cwt of potatoes in storage Apr. 1, down 18% from a year ago. Potatoes in storage accounted for 30% of the 2010 fall storage states' production, four percentage points below Apr. 1, 2010. Processors in the nine major states used 127 million cwt of potatoes this season, up 2% from the same period last year. Dehydrating usage accounted for 19.5 million cwt of the total processing, down 16% from last year. Full Story

Florida blueberry grower-shippers report high quality and strong demand as the season enters peak volume before the Sunshine State's spring deal transitions to Georgia. Unlike last season, when winter freezes delayed Florida and Georgia production and caused the deals to run into the start of the North Carolina deal, May should have ample volumes but not as much as last season's market-wrecking production, stated the president and CEO of SunnyRidge Farm Inc., reported The Packer Online. Full Story

In-shell pecan prices rose almost 100% in the past three years, fetching $2.14 on average last year, according to USDA. Increasing demand in China was attributed for the rise in price, as the country purchased one-quarter of the U.S. crop in 2009 after hardly buying the nuts five years ago. Chinese traders mainly buy pecans in the shell in the U.S. and ship them to China where they are cracked, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Cocoa demand rose in the first quarter, signaling that food makers had access to adequate supplies despite political turmoil in Ivory Coast. Traders predict that prices could weaken, but a selloff is not likely even when the cocoa beans included in the ban hit international markets. Cocoa beans piled up in Ivory Coast warehouses, and transportation bottlenecks may occur as shipments fully resume, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

The IFDA Daily Update

For information on advertising in The IFDA Daily Update, published in conjunction with The Food Institute, click here. To view our editorial policy, click here.

IFDA Membership

For more information about becoming a member or partner
of IFDA, click here.