August 26, 2011

IFDA News

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a final regulation requiring all employers to post a notice in their facilities notifying workers of their right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act. The regulation, which will become effective November 14, will require all employers to post an 11 by 17 inch poster similar to the notice already required of government contractors. The Board also will require the notice to be posted on employer internet or intranet sites if personnel rules and policies are customarily posted there, though a provision to require email and twitter notification was dropped in the final rule. To access the final regulation in PDF form, click here. Additional background information about the rulemaking is available on the Labor page at IFDA Regulatory Watch.

True data synchronization in foodservice is becoming a reality. If you want to understand what this can mean to your business, make sure to attend "Data Synchronization: How It’s Done" at the upcoming Distribution Solutions Conference. During this workshop, Dick Tracy of Dot Foods, Inc., and Rich Borasso of Kellogg’s FAFH will highlight where they are in the GS1 US data synchronization process, featuring the successes-and some of the hardships-they encountered. To round out the session, an operator from a national chain will share their expectations of distributors as this new process begins to encompass the customer end of the supply chain. Get your Innovation On at DSC 2011. For full conference information, click here.

Operator News

Arby's is looking to improve the perceptions of its food and planning multiple upgrades to its menu. The company is emphasizing Angus beef to capture higher profits, and months after Angus sandwiches were put on the menu they account for 8% to 9% of Arby's overall sales. Arby's is also planning to roll out a $4.99 Philly cheesesteak in October, relaunching the Market Fresh line of sandwiches with whole-wheat flatbread, testing a sweet potato product and working to improve its snacks such as jalapeno poppers and fruit turnovers, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Frisch's Restaurants, Inc. closed six of its 35 Golden Corral restaurants on Aug. 23. Four of the six underperforming restaurants were operated in the Greater Cincinnati area. The remaining two were operated in West Akron and Medina, OH, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. Full Story

Four gourmet food stands will open in New York City's Times Square in September, including Nuchas, an Argentinian empanada stand; The Rickshaw Dumplings House; Snack Box, an espresso bar/purveyor of high-end pretzels, cookies and milkshakes; and Salume, which will serve panini. The vendors are expected to generate nearly $400,000 in annual revenue for the Times Square Alliance, reported The New York Post. Full Story

Retail News

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

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.

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

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

Food executives on Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women include: Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo (No. 4); Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft Foods (No. 10); and Margaret Hamburg, FDA Commissioner (No. 21). Full List

Facebook is revamping its location-based product formerly known as "Places." Previously, the only time a Facebook user could mark a location was via the Facebook mobile app; now, the product allows users to tag locations in any post from whether on a phone, tablet or computer. Executives claim check-in deals will continue to be offered to users, but can now be based on a more expansive variety of Facebook activity. If a company sees that a user has tagged it in a post, it can offer coupons before the user gets there, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Crown Holdings Inc. plans to build two beverage can factories in China, both scheduled to open in 2013, plus the addition of a second production line at a factory under construction. When the latest plants are ready, Crown will have 10 beverage-can factories in China, up from four in 2006, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Chiquita Brands International Inc. will promote USDA's new dietary guidelines through the MyPlate program. The Chiquita Bites line will be the first to carry the MyPlate icon, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. 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)

At the request of FDA, U.S. Marshals seized seafood products manufactured by South El Monte, CA-based Meiko Food Co. because the products are adulterated. A complaint alleges that Meiko Foods manufactures and packages ready-to-eat seafood, including cooked seafood balls and fried fish cakes, without having a HACCP plan in place, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Full Story

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

EU beet growers will harvest 17.26 million metric tons in the 2011-12 crop year starting Oct. 1, the largest since 2005-06, and up from 15.2 million a year earlier, according to Rabobank International. Supplies will increase as farmers boost plantings by 4% to 3.89 million acres, according to the European Commission, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story

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