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Retail News
Some 90% of consumers are expected to make private label
food an important part of their holiday meals, up from 87%
in 2008, according to Information Resources, Inc. Nearly two-thirds
of consumers plan to eat their holiday meals at home and half
plan to dine at their friends' homes and holiday parties.
More than 94% plan on spending no more than $500 on food.
Only 11% of consumers will shop without a grocery list. Full
Story
Tesco is continuing to invest in the growth of its Fresh
& Easy stores, despite earlier plans to put the second
stage of its U.S. expansion in northern California on hold.
The company is continuing to add retail sites in San Francisco,
Sacramento and San Jose as well as Reno, NV, reported The
Financial Times. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Kroger's
private-label brands currently account for 35% of all items
sold
in its stores, up from 31% in 2003. Kroger claims it will
keep pushing its store brands and will improve packaging appearance
and increase advertising, reported
The Cincinnati Enquirer. Full
Story
Publix
Super Markets, Associated Food Stores and Buehler's Food Markets
were awarded Supermarket News' Sustainability Excellence
Awards. Full
Story
Progressive
Grocer named Supervalu, Inc. executive chairman
Jeff Noddle its 2009 Retailer of the Year. Full
Story
Manufacturer News
Gum
accounts for roughly 14% of the world's confectionery market,
but its retail value is on track to rise by 4.8% this
year, while chocolate and nonchocolate sugar confectioneries
are growing at a slower pace, 4.1% and 3.5%, respectively,
according to Euromonitor International. Cadbury currently
claims almost 29% of the global gum market. Consumer
demand for products that fit a healthier lifestyle is rising
around the world, and gum has emerged as an alternative to
smoking and snacking. Because it also increasingly serves
as a base from which to add beneficial ingredients to become
a functional food, it has more room to grow than other products
such as chocolate, according to Lee Linthicum, the head of
global food research at Euromonitor, reported BusinessWeek.
Full
Story
Ingredient costs for manufacturers including Heinz, Kraft
and Hormel are down about 28% on average as of Sept. 1
from the same time last year, according to Jonathan Feeney,
food analyst for Janney Montgomery Scott, reported The
Associated Press. Full
Story
Lance, Inc. entered into an agreement with Stella D'oro
Biscuit Co., Inc. to purchase the Stella D'oro brand as
well as certain manufacturing equipment and inventory. Lance
will manufacture the Stella D'oro products in its Ashland,
OH bakery. Full
Story
New Product News: General Mills introduced
Wheaties FUEL cereal, available at retailers in January. Full
Story ... Seattle's Best Coffee introduced the
Just Pure Flavor sweetened syrups in Vanilla Creme, Cinnamon
Swirl and Hazelnut flavors. Full
Story ... Campbell Soup Company's Pepperidge Farm
brand added Cheese Crisps to its Baked Naturals line in two
flavors, Four Cheese Medley and Four Cheese Italian Herb.
Full
Story ... Hain
Celestial Group launched Kosher Valley, a certified-kosher
brand of chicken and turkey products. The items are available
at Whole Foods Market.
Full
Story
Phil's
Fresh Foods will now sell all-natural frozen burritos under
its new name, EVOL Burritos. EVOL Burritos is a joint
venture between Phil's Fresh Foods' founder Phil Anson and
the Burrito Investment Group, and manufactures 11 varieties
of burritos including Shredded Beef, the vegan Tofu and Spinach
Sauté and Cilantro Lime Chicken. Full
Story
Archway
cookies are returning to stores throughout the Northeast,
Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and South Central U.S.
under the new ownership of Lance, Inc. Full
Story
Gluten-free
grains such as quinoa, sorghum and teff are gaining popularity
in gluten-free foods as they tend to have high nutrient
values in comparison with other gluten-free ingredients such
as rice, corn and potato flour, reported Food Navigator
Europe. Full
Story
Cognis
is launching a blend of emulsifiers to give volume to cake
mixes, concentrates and retail mixes. Full
Story
NXT
Nutritionals Holdings, Inc. will ship SUSTA Natural Sweetener
50 Packet Boxes to White Rose Food, which wholesales food
to 1,800 food retailers from Maryland to Connecticut. Full
Story
The
Coca-Cola Company will give $6 million to Spelman College,
Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and the Morehouse
School of Medicine, all part of the Atlanta University Center.
Full
Story
Foodservice News
Landry's
Restaurants, Inc.'s Board of Director's Special Committee
received a letter from Tilman
J. Fertitta, Chairman, President and CEO, expressing his desire
to enter into formal discussions with the Committee regarding
a going-private transaction and a related tax-free spin-off
of the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Saltgrass, Inc.,
a restaurant chain. In the transaction, Mr. Fertitta would
acquire all of the shares of the company's common stock that
he does not currently own and the company's stockholders,
including Mr. Fertitta, would receive shares of Saltgrass
in exchange for their shares of the company's common stock.
Full
Story
Restaurant
Roundup: CiCi's Pizza introduced The Rustic Pizza.
Full
Story ... Panda
Express added SweetFire Chicken to its menu. Full
Story ... T.G.I.
Friday's will offer Jack Daniel's Burgers and Jack Daniel's
Chicken Sandwiches for $5 and will offer $5 off all Jack Daniel's
Grill entrees for a limited time at approximately 600 restaurants.
Full
Story ... Beginning Sept. 13 and throughout the month
of September, McDonald's will offer commuters in Atlanta,
Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, and Washington, DC a coupon
for a free Angus Third Pounder. Full
Story
Smashburger signed a deal with Cow Town Sizzle,
Inc. to operate 12 restaurants in the greater Fort Worth,
TX-area. Full
Story
Baskin-Robbins
plans to open more than 12 new stores in the Charleston,
SC-area. Full
Story
Washington News
Facilities that manufacture, process or hold food for
consumption in the U.S. must notify FDA of an article
of food or animal feed that may cause serious adverse health
consequences or death to humans or animals through the Reportable
Food Registry no later than 24 hours after determining that
an article of food is a reportable food. FDA also provides
a Question and Answer session containing all relevant information
concerning the Reportable Food Registry on its website. Full
Story, Q&A
Session
Among
likely voters surveyed across the U.S., 89% support the
federal government adopting additional food safety measures,
and 64% believe that imported foods are often or sometimes
unsafe, up from the 53% who indicated such concerns in 2008,
according to a Pew-commissioned poll by Hart Research and
Public Opinion Strategies. In addition, 91% of those polled
favor annual or semi-annual government inspections of facilities
that process food that is at a high risk of contamination,
including 75% who strongly favor this. Full
Story
Beverly Hills, CA-based Sprinkles Cupcakes claims the
Philadelphia-based frozen yogurt chain Sprinkles is infringing
on their 2002 trademark by using the "Sprinkles" name for
a dessert store. The lawyer for the owners of the Philadelphia
chain claims the word is generic and the trademark should
be rescinded, reported The New York Post. Full
Story
Premier Organics initiated a voluntary
recall of its Artisana Raw Tahini because it has the potential
to be contaminated with Salmonella. Full
Story
Bay Valley Foods, LLC initiated a voluntary
recall of approximately 6,490-lbs. of grilled steak and
vegetable soups due to possible underprocessing. Full
Story
Global News
Shareholders of Australian grain firm ABB Grains Ltd voted
in favor of a $1.4 billion shares-and-cash takeover from Canadian
grain firm Viterra Inc., reported Reuters. Full
Story
Market News
California wineries will purchase green grapes for concentrate
at $165 a ton this year, down from last year's $225. "That
price is a disaster for the raisin grower this year," stated
Dennis Oikle, a San Joaquin Valley raisin grower. Some believe
it could result in growers of raisin variety grapes choosing
to make raisins rather than selling their green grapes to
the wineries, reported California Farm Bureau. Full
Story
California rice farmers claim they expect above average
yields from their fields this season. Harvest of early
varieties will start about mid-September. Other farmers are
preparing their fields to start harvest around the end of
the month, reported California Farm Bureau.
California peach, plum and nectarine growers report good
fruit quality this season. The tree fruit harvest is wrapping
up in the Central Valley, though late harvest varieties will
be available for several weeks. A few farmers pulled their
older orchards after harvest. Some are planting mandarins,
which have been earning better prices in recent years, reported
California Farm Bureau.
Many
of Kansas' grain elevators are still filled with wheat,
creating storage concerns as harvest of fall crops approach,
reported The Witchita Eagle. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Late
blight fungus should not affect the quality or quantity of
potatoes stored in Wisconsin
this year, according to A.J. Bussan, a University of Wisconsin-Madison
extension vegetable specialist, reported TwinCities.com.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Earth Source expects about half the organic avocados it
imports from Mexico this year will be Fair Trade, up from
30% last year, reported The Packer Online. Full
Story (Subscription Required)
Chilean almond production and exports are expected to
increase this year mainly due to favorable weather conditions
together with new-planted areas coming into production. But
walnut production fell in 2008/2009 when compared to the previous
year due to adverse weather conditions, noted FAS. FAS
Report
EU-27 production of peaches and nectarines in 2009/10
is estimated at 4.2 million metric tons (MT). Favorable
weather conditions during blooming and maturation resulted
in a slight harvest increase for the EU-27 as compared to
the previous year. Quality is reported as good in most member
states. Total cherry production in 2009/10 is expected at
634,000 MT, an increase over the previous year, due to good
crops in Spain and Germany, reported FAS. FAS
Report
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service decreased the assessment
rate established for the Prune Marketing Committee for
the 2009-10 and subsequent crop years from $0.30 to $0.16
per ton of salable dried prunes. Full
Notice
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service established a rule
changing the reporting requirements under the marketing
order that regulates the handling of kiwifruit grown in
California. This rule requires handlers who ship 100,000 or
more trays per season to file weekly shipment and price information
with the Kiwifruit Administrative Committee, though shipments
of organic kiwifruit are exempt from this requirement. Full
Notice
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service amended the marketing
order for oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos grown
in Florida. The amendments will modify committee representation
by cooperative entities, allow substitute alternates to temporarily
represent absent members at committee meetings, authorize
the committee to conduct meetings by telephone or other means
of communication and authorize the committee to conduct research
and promotion programs, including paid advertising, for fresh
Florida citrus. Full
Notice
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service will hold a meeting
of the National Organic Standards Board Nov. 3 through
Nov. 5 at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. Full
Notice
EPA established a regulation creating a tolerance for
combined residues of the herbicide pendimethalin including
its metabolites and degradates in or on olive at 0.1 parts
per million. Full
Notice
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IGA
Coca-Cola Perspective 
