Industry News

More than a third of Americans don't decide what's for dinner until the last minute, and more than half want something that requires little effort, according to an online survey of almost 53,000 people by the NPD Group. The survey respondents, who are the primary dinner preparers in their home, say their top four desires when making dinner are that it's easy to make, satisfies their hunger, takes little or no planning, and can be made with ingredients on hand, reported USA Today. Full Story

Japan's FamilyMart Co. is determined to make its U.S. convenience stores as Japanese as possible. FamilyMart, which will open its store in Hollywood, CA in July, plans to sell Americans some 140 original food items, including "bento" boxed meals, rice balls, sushi and bread. FamilyMart is planning to open 200 U.S. outlets by the end of 2009, according to The Japan Times. Full Story

Yoplait is introducing Healthy Heart yogurt, the first yogurt available in the U.S. that contains cholesterol-lowering plant sterols. Now available nationwide, Yoplait Healthy Heart comes in four fruit flavors: Strawberry, Harvest Peach, Cherry Orchard and Strawberry Banana. Full Story

Spartan Stores has made improvements including a new look for its Spartan-brand products, remodeling stores and changing its product mix to attract and keep customers from competitors. It has about 60 private label products on the drawing board, including fruit rollups, granola bars and beef jerky. It will work on adding natural and organic products, health and beauty care products and a lower-cost, generic brand, reported The Detroit Free Press. Full Story

New England broadliner Cara Donna Provisions Co., Inc. has charted an "aggressive" growth course that should lift the company to the $100 million plateau in a few years, according ID Report. Driving this expansion will be the 100% enlargement of its Braintree, MA, headquarters-warehouse, as well as the addition of fresh produce to its inventory. Full Story

While Economy Cash & Carry, Inc. fulfills the role of a one-stop shop for many food-oriented businesses, 60% of its revenue comes from commercial and noncommercial operators in greater El Paso, TX and south of the border. Its niche product is anything that is consumed by Mexican customers in either country, according to ID Report. Full Story

The internet has turned coupon-clipping into a serious money saver for some families. It brings clippers a wealth of tools simply by connecting more people and thus more coupons, and more information about stores and sales. Instead of being limited to a few local friends, clippers now trade with people through sites such as MyCoupons.com, creating an underground market of sorts, reported USA Today. Full Story

During the IFDA Partners Executive Forum held last week in Washington, DC, ID Access spoke with IFDA President Mark S. Allen. Allen discussed the association's efforts on behalf of the membership and industry as well as the creation of the Center for Distribution Excellence, a new resource under development for IFDA members. Full Story

Latest sales & earnings for food related companies (Updated Daily)

Monterey Gourmet Foods introduced a new fresh whole wheat pasta line under the Monterey Pasta Company brand. Full Story

MSNBC.com takes a look at pasta made almost entirely from shrimp, which uses an enzyme that can be used to adhere two pieces of protein that were never intended to go together. Full Story

Toledoblade.com takes a look at small ethnic groceries who are finding their niche in the Toledo, OH area. Full Story

Exxon hopes to double annual coffee sales of $34 million over the next three years, while more than doubling the number of its U.S. convenience stores to 1,700 over the next five years. It has already put $10 million into the effort, installing new brewing equipment and setting up brown-and-black "Bengal Traders" themed coffee bars at convenience stores that are built into many gas stations, reported ABC News. Full Story

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shop will open its 300th shop in March and plans on opening 100 more locations this year and beyond, reported Chicago Sun-Times. Full Story

SoBe added Lean Energy and Lean Mango Melon to its diet SoBe Lean line. The new flavors will launch nationally in February. Full Story

Hardee's introduced the Loaded Breakfast Burrito, a breakfast option geared towards its Monster Burger fans. Full Story

International News

Israel's independent supermarket chains are establishing a joint company in order to enhance their competitive strength against the large supermarket chains, reported Just-food.com. The seven chains plan to establish a joint company with Diplomat Cosmetics, the Israeli agent for Proctor & Gamble. The new company will establish a private brand, Hamutag, to be distributed by all the chains, related to a wide range of food products as well. Full Story

Everyday foods consumed by Canadians - such as salmon, ground beef, cheese and butter - are laced with chemical flame retardants, according to research commissioned by The Globe and Mail and CTV News. The level of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the country's food supply has been closely monitored for years and there is no cause for alarm, said Samuel Ben Rejeb, associate director of the bureau of chemical safety in the health products and food branch of Health Canada. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The annual sales of pet food and necessities in China might exceed $724.9 million by 2008. China has about 150 million pet dogs. An average Chinese city has about 100,000 dogs and gains about 10,000 per year, while large cities can have twice as many, according to China Daily. Full Story

Australian beef and veal production reached the highest level in more than 25 years - with more than 2.11 million metric tons produced during 2004, according to figures from Meat and Livestock Australia. This is 6% higher than 2003, reported MeatNews.com. Full Story

The state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, recorded its third case of mad cow disease this year, reported FAZ Weekly. Full Story

Health News

People may inherit a sense of taste that affects their desire to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, according to a study that groups people as vegetable lovers, fruit lovers, lovers of both kinds of foods or lovers of neither, reported MSNBC.com. Full Story

Amid a national obesity epidemic, health officials are trying to get Southern diners to flinch at the region's trademark fried and fatty foods, reported ABC News. Full Story

Washington News

McDonald's agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit over not properly informing the public that it had encountered delays in plans to lessen the trans fats in its cooking oils. The company will donate $7 million to the American Heart Association and spend another $1.5 million to inform the public of its trans fat plans, reported CNN.com. Full Story

Meanwhile, with food companies required to disclose trans fats on food labels as of Jan. 1, 2006, many companies are scrambling to find an alternative to partially hydrogenated oil, reported The New York Times on the Web. McDonald's is considering a new breed of oil called high-oleic canola as an alternative to partially hydrogenated oil, but a switch would cost the company an additional $70 million a year. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

In Canada, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union will file charges against Wal-Mart Canada for exhibiting "bad faith" during its first-ever contract talks by secretly planning to close the affected store in Quebec. The union plans to ask the province's labor board to force Wal-Mart to prove the store wasn't profitable, reported Tampa Bay Online. Full Story

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A procedural error in notifying the U.S. Senate may force USDA to delay its plans to resume imports of cattle and beef from Canada on Mar. 7, according to MeatNews.com. Full Story

Fortner Foods Commissary, Murfreesboro, TN, is voluntarily recalling Sir Pizza Ham that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Full Notice

NMFS' New England Fishery Management Council scheduled a public meeting of its Scallop Advisory Panel. Full Notice

Market News

Since 2000, nearly 20 food processing plants in Oregon have been shuttered, according to the Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA). As a result, 450-member NWFPA wants to build a cluster mind-set in the industry and create supporting infrastructure, reported The Business Journal of Portland. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

An agricultural program aimed at helping New Jersey farmers develop "value-added" products from their fields is being spearheaded by Rutgers University's Food Innovation Center, an agency that provides business development and technological support to New Jersey farmers and the state's food industry in general, reported Forbes.com. Full Story

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines multiple reasons for Wisconsin's thriving agribusiness, such as organic goods with nationwide distribution, like those produced by Organic Valley co-op, and value-added products, such as specialty cheeses. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

California Grape growers crushed 3.6 million tons of fruit in 2004, up 7% from the 2003 crush, according to a preliminary report by the California Department of Agriculture. In 2004, 658,048 tons, or approximately 18%, of the grape crush total went to concentrate production. In 2003, 506,877 tons of grapes were crushed for concentrate. View Details

Ranchers plan to expand their lamb production this season. Lamb prices have hit record highs and farmers have retained more ewes in order to meet the increased demand. The California Sheep Commission expects lamb supplies to be tight throughout the year. Growing ethnic markets within the U.S. have boosted demand, reported California Farm Bureau Federation.

Increased demand from Western Europe for iceberg lettuce has somewhat offset the lack of demand on the East Coast due to the cold weather, reported The Packer Online. Spain, where countries such as the UK traditionally get their iceberg during this time of year, is suffering through poor weather and crop problems. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

A number of importers and marketers have responded to claims of Chilean melon Brix levels made by Fresh Express Inc. in its recent press release concerning the use of the fruit in its new fresh-cut melon product, reported The Produce News. Full Story

USDA considers amending the marketing agreement and order for Irish potatoes grown in Washington state. Full Notice

Although ITA's preliminarily review on certain in-shell raw pistachios from Iran found no evidence that Tehran Negah Nima Trading Company was dumping, the final rule hits Nima with an 18.74% duty. Full Notice

ITA extended antidumping reviews for honey From Argentina Full Notice and frozen red raspberries from Chile Full Notice.

U.S. & Foreign Sales Leads

USDA purchased canned cranberry sauce. View Details