Retail News
Retail food prices in the U.S. increased just a tenth
of a percent in March, bringing prices 3.6% above a year
earlier, according to exclusive Food Institute analysis of
just-released Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. The annualized inflation, however, dropped
again to 4.4% for the first quarter. Full
Story (FI Membership Required)
More than four in 10 (44%) "always" or "usually" consult
the Nutrition Facts Panel and/or ingredient list to assess
sodium levels when considering a food purchase, according
to research from Mintel. Some 51% "always" or "usually" look
at fat content, while 47% look at sugar levels and 49% examine
calorie counts "always" or "usually" when shopping. Full
Story
The CEO of Brown's Super Stores Inc. is looking to add
15 convenient-care clinics into supermarkets in the Philadelphia
region. The chain operates 10 ShopRite supermarkets in and
around Philadelphia, reported Philadelphia Business Journal.
Full
Story (Paid Subscription Required)
Aving Rice LLC will sell 35 Jumpin Jimmy's convenience
stores in central Illinois. Aving Rice is offering the
stores in a sealed-bid auction; the auction's deadline is
June 5, reported CSP Daily News. Full
Story
Retailer Patagonia is entering the packaged food industry
with the introduction of Patagonia Provisions, a line
of sustainable foods. The line, which will launch with three
flavors of Wild Salmon Jerky, will be available in all of
its 30 U.S. stores over the next few months, reported Bloomberg
Businessweek. Full
Story
New Store News: Whole Foods Market plans to
open a 20,000-sq. ft. supermarket in Detroit next year, reported
ABCNews. Full
Story ... Sam's Club will open a relocated 136,000-sq.
ft. store in Lubbock, TX on Apr. 19, about one-third larger
than the previous location. Full
Story
A Central Market store in Dallas added a bulk
food section with specially crafted granola, salty
snacks and chocolate covered items, reported Supermarket
News. Full
Story
Manufacturer
News
Kraft Foods Inc. is discontinuing its Athenos
line of Greek yogurt, exiting the U.S. Greek yogurt market.
Athenos, which also makes feta cheese, hummus and pita chips,
discontinued the yogurt in March, reported Reuters.
Full
Story
Always Bagels plans to expand its 71,000-sq.
ft. bakery in Lebanon, PA to meet growing demand for its
pre-packaged bagels. The expansion, which is still in the
planning stages, would add between 40,000 and 50,000-sq. ft.
to the bakery; construction would start in about a year. The
company's products are sold throughout the U.S. and Canada,
reported Keystone Edge. Full
Story
The internet is becoming a critical venue
for marketing efforts by the U.S. tree nut industries,
including the Almond Board of California and the American
Pistachio Growers, who spend about 70% of their annual budgets
on marketing and promotions, reported Western Farm Press.
Full
Story
Kreider Farms was accused by the Humane Society
of the U.S. of overcrowding and inhumane treatment of animals
at its Manheim, PA-based egg factory. The company supplies
eggs to regional supermarkets including ShopRite, reported
The Philadelphia Inquirer. Full
Story (Free Registration Required), Humane
Society Release
Foodservice News
Cosi Inc. plans to raise up to $15 million to aid its
turnaround through an offering to investors for the purchase
of additional shares of stock for every share they own at
an unspecified price, reported Crain's Chicago Business.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Health News
A hypervirulent salmonella strain could help potentially
prevent food poisoning outbreaks, claimed a study published
in the Public Library of Science Pathogens journal.
Now that researchers know how to find the strain, they are
developing methods to rapidly detect and discriminate the
more harmful strains from their less-virulent cousins, reported
New York Daily News. Full
Story
Washington News
The Tennessee House of Representatives voted to cut the
state's tax on food by a quarter of a percentage point.
House Bill 3761 reduces the food tax to 5.25%, reported The
Tennessean. Full
Story
Part of a class-action lawsuit against Brinker International
Inc. can proceed, the California Supreme Court ruled.
The court ruled that employers only have to provide meal periods
to workers, not make sure employees actually take them. Clear
guidelines were also set for the number and timing of rest
breaks, upholding a lower court's decision to authorize a
class action on those claims, reported Reuters. Full
Story, Brinker
Release
A plan to speed up processing lines at U.S. chicken and
turkey plants while cutting government inspectors is prompting
a backlash from consumer groups and food safety advocates.
Several groups demanded that USDA revamp the program, and
one launched an online petition to overturn the plan, reported
Reuters. Full
Story
A false advertising lawsuit against Cytosport, Inc. can
proceed, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District
of California ruled. Full
Story
Mediterra S.A. initiated a voluntary recall of various
pie, fruit and spread because they may contain undeclared
allergens. Full
Story
John B. Sanfilippo and Son, Inc. initiated a voluntary
recall of Fisher Vanilla Bean Almonds and Fisher Cocoa
Mocha Almonds because these items contain undeclared soy ingredients.
Full
Story
John B. Sanfilippo and Son, Inc. initiated a voluntary
recall of Full Circle Concierge Snack Nut Blend because
it contains undeclared soy and milk ingredients. Full
Story
H.C. Foods Co., Ltd. initiated a voluntary recall of
frozen dried mackerel and dried round scad because the products
were not properly eviscerated prior to processing due to the
presence of gills. Full
Story
Global News
Wal-Mart Canada Corp. almost doubled its share of the
fresh-food market in the past two years. Food and consumer
products such as toothpaste make up 41.7% of its estimated
$20 billion of annual sales, compared with 30.6% in fiscal
2008, according to Wal-Mart's figures, reported The Globe
and Mail. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s growth in China will
not be affected by the country's recent economic slowdown,
according to the CEO of the company's Asia division, reported
The Wall Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Market News
Florida potato grower-shippers reported strong demand
in early April, but an early start to the northern
Florida deal could yield sluggish red potato markets in May.
White production was starting to gap in early April as shippers
began running out, and yellow potatoes also were becoming
more scarce in the central and southern regions, though gaps
should not be as big, reported The Packer Online.
Full
Story
The U.S. has not been this dry in almost five years,
as a mostly dry, mild winter has put nearly 61% of the lower
48 states in "abnormally dry" or drought conditions, according
to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Only two states, Ohio and Alaska,
are entirely free of abnormally dry or drought conditions.
Georgia is one area that will be under scrutiny, with more
than 63% of the state in the worst two levels of drought,
the highest percentage of any state, reported USA Today.
Full
Story
The 2012 Sonora grape crop from Mexico could be both
early and large after two unusually light and late
years. Producers and distributors involved in the Sonora grape
deal see the anticipated prospects for the 2012 crop more
as a return to normal. Timing is expected to be normal, with
an average crop size being estimated at 18 million boxes.
Some 80% of the grape deal could run in to the end of May
through July, reported The Produce News. Full
Story
Blue Diamond Growers launched the first phase of its manufacturing
plant in Turlock, CA, which is scheduled to be completed
in May 2013. The 200,000-sq. ft. building will provide space
for manufacturing and delivering almond products. The three-phased
project will eventually yield a total of about 500,000-sq.
ft. of building space over the next 15 years. Full
Story
Damage from a hailstorm in California's San Joaquin Valley
was more severe than expected, and financial losses could
reach into the millions. Some 500 to 800 acres of tree fruit
received some sort of damage ranging from 20% to 80% of the
fruit, according to the Tulare County Agriculture Commissioner's
office, reported The Fresno Bee. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
An abundance of spinach from multiple growing regions
should keep prices low well into the summer. In addition
to the good growing weather in Oxnard, the Salinas and Santa
Maria growing areas of California also experienced near-ideal
growing conditions, with all three California regions producing
in early April, creating the largest spinach volumes for that
time of year, reported The Packer Online. Full
Story
Seafood distribution company Bar Harbor Lobster Co. Inc.
will start work on a $2.2 million, 18,000-sq. ft. expansion
in Orlando, FL. The expansion will include a 10,000-sq. ft.
freezer with a live lobster holding facility and a receiving
dock, reported Orlando Business Journal. Full
Story (Paid Subscription Required)
The price of U.S. breeding bulls rose by as much as 70%
from a year ago, one of the first signs that ranchers
are investing in expanding their herds. The average price
of Angus bulls sold at auction in the six months through March
rose 21% from a year earlier to an average of $4,627 per head,
according to the American Angus Association, reported Reuters.
Full
Story
Wisconsin farmers may experience seed shortages if they
have to replant their crop because of a late frost and
spring floods this season. The farmers are planting corn this
week, the earliest ever for many of them, and must deal with
at least a 25% decline in U.S. production of corn seed because
of a drought last summer in the Upper Midwest/Great Plains
and drought conditions in South America. A widespread seed
shortage could lower the forecast 4.2 million acres of state
corn plantings and increase prices of the grain later this
year and in 2013, reported Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Full
Story
The dairy products price series in the Dairy Products
Sales report released by AMS is equivalent to the price
series previously released by NASS in the Dairy Products
Prices report, according to the Deputy Administrator of
Dairy Programs. The dairy product price series is used in
the price discovery mechanism for raw milk component values
used in determining Federal milk market order minimum classified
milk prices. Full
Notice
The International Trade Commission determined that revocation
of the antidumping duty order on certain orange juice from
Brazil would likely not lead to continuation or recurrence
of material injury to an industry in the U.S. within a reasonably
foreseeable time. Full
Notice
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