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Industry News

A note from John Cady, President and CEO of the National Food Processors Association: "I officially retire from NFPA today, January 7. I want to take this opportunity to thank our NFPA Members for their support, loyalty and friendship. It is the active participation of our Members that has made NFPA the great organization it is today, and I am very proud of what this Association accomplished during my fifteen years as President and CEO. You have all been wonderful to my wife, Gail, and me." "I am succeeded as the Association's President and CEO by Cal Dooley, a former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a superb choice to continue this Association's tradition of leadership on vital issues for the food industry; he is also a good man. I know that you will provide him with the same input and support you have given me over the past 15 years." "I wish the very best for Cal, the Association's Members, its Officers and the wonderful NFPA staff."

Tyson Foods will temporarily suspend operations at four beef plants and the second shift at another. The affected plants are located in the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, and have been hurt by a combination of tight cattle supplies, lackluster domestic beef demand and the continued absence of key export markets. Full Story

Bruegger's new "Meals to Go" carry-out catering service provides an assortment of its most popular menu items for any group setting. "Meals to Go" is offered nationwide at all Bruegger's company-owned bakeries. "Meals to Go" is designed for guests wishing to provide breakfast, lunch or dessert for group settings and is ideal for office meetings, working lunches, field trips, and office parties. Full Story

Albertsons Inc. is converting 11 of its Florida supermarkets into Super Saver stores. The Albertsons stores, which will close in 30 days, will reopen in one to two months after the stores are remodeled and restocked, according to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Full Story

Ralphs Grocery will close its three stores in Bakersfield, CA, effective Mar. 6, because they are unprofitable, reported Supermarket News. Full Story

Bioterrorism Act Records and Administration Detention Requirements: Meeting Your Compliance Challenges Feb. 10, 2005, NFPA Headquarters, Washington, DC This one-day workshop will help regulated companies understand what they have to do to be in compliance with the new requirements and when. NFPA Regulatory Experts, Legal Counsel as well as FDA Officials will be on hand to answer your specific questions. Please click here to register or for more information.

Boston Brewing Co., the maker of Samuel Adams beer, is planning a $7 million expansion of its Cincinnati brewery. The project will be completed by September and will allow the company to brew about two-thirds of its Samuel Adams beer in Cincinnati - about 800,000 barrels a year, up from 600,000 now. The company has another brewery in Boston, reported USA Today. Full Story

LesserEvil Snack Co., a startup healthy snack company, is looking to capitalize on a need among upscale baby boomers for healthy, convenient versions of snacks for which they are willing to pay a premium. Its initial line of four low-fat, sugar-free popcorn varieties are made with gourmet ingredients and without preservatives and trans-fatty acids. Initial distribution will focus on GNC stores and Balducci's in the New York metro area, but the company is also filling mail orders for gourmet shops across the country. It is in the process of signing on distributors for its planned expansion to natural grocery stores like Whole Foods and Wild Oats and vitamin stores, as well as gourmet and specialty shops across the East Coast over the next six months and to the West Coast in March, reported Advertising Age.

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

While most mature adults ages 55 or older (88%) consider themselves "active" and on-the-go many continue to face significant obstacles to getting the nutritious, good-tasting meals they want and need, according to a new survey conducted for ConAgra Foods Inc.'s Golden Cuisine line. Full Story

5 Myths of Consumer Shopping Behavior: A multi-disciplinary approach to Shopper Insights uncovers five myths about consumer shopping behavior, reports The Hartman Group's HartBeat. These commonly held assumptions do not hold true: 1) Brand Loyalty Drives Shopping Behavior, 2) Retail Environments Build Brand Loyalty, 3) Behavioral Scripts Drive Shopping Behavior, 4) Shopping Behavior is About Fulfilling Fixed Needs, 5) Shopping Behavior Varies by Category. Full Story To download a FREE white paper introducing The Hartman Group's pioneering efforts in Shopper Insights, click here.

A coalition of labor leaders, small businesses and elected officials are denouncing Wal-Mart's plan to build a store in the borough of Queens, its first in New York City. The groups accused Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of labor violations, unfair business practices and driving local competitors out of business, reported The Sacramento Bee. Full Story

International News

Tesco PLC is poised to be the third largest global food retailer by the end of the decade, according to a report from think tank IGD. Based on its recent international success, the British supermarketer over the next five years will leapfrog Netherlands-based Ahold NV and Germany's Metro, according to the report, titled Tesco: Driving Global Capability. Fueling the chain's growth will be operations in Asia and Central Europe, reported Mass Market Retailers. Full Story

Health News

U.S. scientists have discovered that organic ketchup contains higher levels of lycopene, which protects against cancer. Scientists Mary Chapman and Betty Ishida, working at the Agricultural Research Service in Albany, CA, tested lycopene levels and antioxidant activity in 13 different ketchup brands. Their findings indicate that the three organic varieties had higher levels of lycopene, reported Just-food.com. Full Story

Drinking organic milk has more health benefits than drinking non-organic, according to a study by the Danish Institute of Agricultural Research, which is part of the University of Newcastle's Quality Low Input Food Congress. The study showed organic milk has higher levels of vitamin E, omega 3 essential fatty acids and antioxidants, which help beat infections, reported BBC News. Full Story

Food Labeling Workshop: Complying with FDA Requirements for the Labeling of Packaged Food Mar. 8-9, 2005, The Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, TX Learn the “Do’s and Don’ts” of food labeling requirements from NFPA experts at this hands-on workshop. Your company won’t want to miss it! Class size is limited, so click here to register today.

In its nonscientific Seventh Annual Fattest and Fittest Cities Report, Men's Fitness magazine compares 50 cities by weighing 14 factors, including fast food restaurants per capita, TV watching, air quality, and parks. Seattle, WA, is the fittest; Houston, TX, the fattest, reported Fox News. Full Story

Washington News

The American Beverage Association issued a response to the Center for Science in the Public Interest's call for regulating which foods and beverages may be marketed and advertised to children and how they may be marketed. "Our member soft drink companies are committed to marketing and advertising their products responsibly and support and follow the guidelines of the Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the self-regulatory body for children's advertising," said the trade association. Full Story

The U.S. International Trade Commission cleared the way for tariffs to be imposed on shrimp imports from six Asian and South American countries, but left open the possibility of revoking tariffs on India and Thailand. The commission will review how badly the shrimp industries there have been damaged and decide if the tariffs should be lifted, reported CNN.com. Full Story, Full Notice

Now Is The Time To Turn Your Focus To Regulatory Programs Affecting Food Safety! This 1-Day symposium on Jan. 13, 2005 in San Antonio, TX is designed to give food safety and regulatory professionals the latest information on GMP modernization, advances in allergen control and insight into the FSIS approach to Listeria control for ready-to-eat products. For more information and to register, contact Christy Jones at cjones@nfpa-food.org or 202-639-5908.

Agribusiness and biotech-seed company Monsanto Co. agreed to pay $1.5 million in fines and submit to independent monitoring for three years in order to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department, reported STLtoday.com. Full Story

Two major U.S. poultry associations are working with OSHA to enhance worker safety in poultry processing plants, reported Meat News. Full Story The Food Institute is preparing the new edition of the OSHA Manual; contact Sue Antista at santista@foodinstitute.com or 201-791-5570, ext. 12 for information on the OSHA reference guide.

In EPA food pesticide regulations, an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soybeans, eggs, fish, crustacea, and/or wheat when used as inert or active ingredients in pesticide products was finalized. Full Notice As requested by Dow AgroScience, tolerances for residues of spinosad were set. Full Notice EPA is exploring Cyprodinil regulations. Full Notice

Market News

The 2nd District Court of Appeal denied a rehearing of a lower court ruling striking down the Florida Department of Citrus box tax. The appeal court had ruled in October in favor of eight major growers who had filed suit against the tax, citing that it is unconstitutional, according to The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story

Brazil expects coffee export revenue to jump 25% in 2005 as farmers profit from a surge in prices, reported Bloomberg.com. Coffee exports probably will rise to $2.5 billion this year, from $2 billion in 2004, according to Linneu da Costa Lima, production and trade secretary at Brazil's agriculture ministry. Full Story

Arm Yourself With Information About Mad Cow Disease The Mad Cow Disease Primer: Science, Regulations, and Policies Concerning BSE, from the Food Institute and Olsson, Frank & Weeda, is a 38-page summary of the science and history of BSE. Armed with this information, you will be better equipped to respond to consumer and customer inquiries regarding the disease and its impact, if any, on food safety. To order, click here.

New Zealand-based ripeSense's sensor label that changes color to to tell consumers when a pear is actually ripe and ready to eat is available on pears exclusively in the Haggen Food & Pharmacy and TOP Food & Drug stores in Washington and Oregon. Full Story

Certified organic peach processor, George Noroian, renowned for his fancy label, Fruitful Valley, died on Dec. 28, 2004, at the age of 89 in Palo Alto, CA. He is remembered for his sweeping reforms in the federal and state FDA regulatory system, forcing secret food processing regulations into the public domain. Full Story

U.S. & Foreign Sales Leads

USDA offers to purchase frozen beef products. Offers are due 1:30 p.m. (CT), Jan. 14. View Details

USDA offers to purchase cured, fully cooked, boneless, water added hams. Offers are due 1:00 p.m. (CT), Jan. 21. View Details

USDA purchased whole eggs. View Details