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Industry
News
As packaged-beverage distributors and
suppliers formulate their responses to McLane Co., and
others', recent decision to move from a cost-based to
a weight-based fee for its suppliers, one of the
largest players, PepsiCo's Gatorade, may be leaning
toward negotiation, according to CSP Daily News.
Full
Story
M.J. Davis & Co. and George's Organics merged to
form Organic Partners International, LLC. The company
will offer services as sourcing agents and primary ingredient
suppliers. Full
Story
Kellogg Company is adding a wide variety of products
appealing to consumers of all ages, such as Special
K Honey Nut Cereal Bars, All-Bran crackers, Cocoa Krispies
ChocoNilla cereal and Rice Krispies Treats Chocolatey
Peanut Butter. The company's new products focus on taste
variations to some of their existing products for kids,
and new healthy and convenient meal and snack alternatives
for adults. Full
Story
 Washington
Redskins owner Dan Snyder's RedZone Capital Fund
Two will acquire the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain.
Snyder has ambitious expansion plans for the chain,
anticipating opening 1,000 new restaurants in the next
five years. One of the first steps will be establishing
a series of smaller restaurants, called Johnny Rockets
Express, in airports, malls and urban areas, reported
StarNewsOnline.com. Full
Story
Hansen Natural Corporation and Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
concluded an agreement under which Anheuser-Busch,
Inc. will manage and coordinate the sales, distribution
and merchandising of Monster Energy energy drinks to
on-premise retailers including bars, nightclubs and
restaurants in territories approved by Hansen. Full
Story
Anheuser-Busch's Michelob brand of beers will return
to an all-malt recipe and be packaged in the teardrop
bottle that was eliminated five years ago. The new
Michelob and Michelob Light bottles will be available
nationwide by Feb. 26, and the Michelob AmberBock bottle
will be available nationwide by March 5. Full
Story
An increasing number of brewpubs nationwide
want to add distilled spirits such as rum and whiskey
to their list of onsite alcohol offerings. While
revenues from sales of the cheapest, or "value," spirits
decreased from 2005 to 2006, revenues from the most
expensive spirits, called "super premiums," jumped nearly
19% during the same period, according to the Distilled
Spirits Council. Full
Story
Latest
sales & earnings for food related companies
(Updated Daily)
Israel-based EZ Energy, Ltd. closed a private placement
of bonds and warrants for investment institutions to
generate funds for the acquisition of more than 100
convenience stores located in the U.S. The company
signed two acquisitions agreements and continued negations
for three more deals, carrying a total investment of
$140 million, reported Globes Online. Full
Story
Snyder's of Hanover rolled out a new line of MultiGrain
Snacks, the first and only full line of whole grain
snacks to enter the snack food category. Full
Story
Thumann's entire product line was certified gluten-free
by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization,
allowing Thumann's to enter the growing market
of people following a gluten-free diet. Full
Story
In response to a recent Stagnito Daily
Brief survey, 70% of respondents agreed with the
statement, "Tougher federal laws are required
to curb food borne illness,"  while
30% disagreed.
North
Carolina's Elon University will stop the use of trans
fat in campus dining options. Aramark, the university's
dining provider, worked with suppliers, dietitians and
chefs to identify a trans-fat free cooking oil that
would not compromise the food's taste, reported The
Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area. Full
Story
Wine
consumption among NASCAR fans is up 22% from last year,
far outpacing the overall U.S. growth in wine, according
to a study from ACNielsen and Nielsen Sports. Wine purchases
increased to $81.40 per year, an average dollar increase
of about $14.60 per household. Results also indicate
that this increase in wine spending is slightly stronger
among avid fans, with their purchases increasing by
26.4%. Full
Story
International
News
Canada-based, Tim Horton's
anticipates adding as many as 140 restaurants
in Canada and as many as 80 in the U.S. this year as
it moves toward its goal of 4,000 outlets, including
500 in the U.S. by 2008. The coffee-and-doughnut chain's
fourth-quarter profit more than tripled as it opened
stores and attracted customers with a new  breakfast
sandwich, according to Bloomberg.com. Full
Story
Japanese
food company Nichiro Corp. recalled nearly five million
cans of tuna after a customer found part of a box
cutter blade in a can, according to a company official.
Full
Story
Health News
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
is asking the Federal Trade Commission to ban cheese
advertising during children's TV shows. Cheddar
cheese gets 73% of its calories from fat and thus is
not an acceptable food to be promoted to kids during
the obesity epidemic, the PCRM claims. PCRM
Press Release
Over the past 20 years, the diets of American adults
have become more consistent with most dietary recommendations
for heart disease prevention - but the trend may not
be continuing, according to a report in the Journal
of the American Dietetic Association. Researchers noted
little improvement - or trends in the wrong direction-
for three areas: energy balance (taking in more calories
than is expended) worsened, as did sodium intake, while
the amount of fish consumed remained below recommended
levels, reported Reuters. Full
Story
Washington News
Nine
out of 10 U.S. adults believe credit card companies
should disclose how much they charge in interchange
fees and how those fees are set, according to a
new poll released by the Merchants Payments Coalition
that was conducted by Harris Interactive. Consumers
also want Congress to require credit card companies
to be more forthcoming about their policies and practices.
Full
Story The Food Marketing Institute urges Congress
to act on these public concerns. FMI
Release
Philadelphia restaurants will no longer be able
to fry food in oil containing trans fats or serving
trans fat-based spreads by Sept. 1, 2007, according
to a bill approved unanimously by the Philadelphia City
Council. By Sept. 1, 2008, trans fats would be banned
in all other types of food prepared in Philadelphia
eateries, reported Associated Press. Full
Story
 Winn-Dixie
Stores will receive about $19 million from the Internal
Revenue Service as part of a preliminary agreement
the parties reached in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. This interim
agreement is the first step to settling approximately
20 claims the IRS has with Winn-Dixie, reported Jacksonville
Business Journal. Full
Story
Peanut Processors,
Inc. recalled certain bulk loads of peanut paste
because the paste may contain small particles of metal.
Full
Notice
Market News
Florida's all orange forecast, at 140 million boxes,
is unchanged from January, but down 5% from the
2005/06 season's crop. Meanwhile, Florida frozen concentrated
orange juice yield for the 2006/07 season is forecast
at 1.61 gallons per box at 42.0 degrees Brix, up from
1.58 gallons per box last month but down from the 2005/06
season's yield of 1.63 gallons, according to USDA's
Crop Production report. View
Report
 Almond
marketers confirmed that the 2006 crop set a new production
record and sales continue to reach new highs. The
Almond Board of California reported that total deliveries
of almonds had reached nearly 1.1 billion pounds by
the end of last month and it was also a record-breaking
month for shipments, as marketers had their best January
ever selling almonds to both domestic and export customers,
reported California Farm Bureau Federation. View
Almond Report
Peanut growers in Virginia and the Carolinas were
granted a Certification Mark by the U.S. Patent Office.
Use of the VC Grown Certification Mark by processors
and food manufacturers assures consumers that only peanuts
produced in the three states are used in products. Kellogg
Company is the first national company to use the VC
Grown Certification Mark on their new Nutri-Grain Fruit
and Nut Bar, which features Virginia Carolina grown
peanuts, reported Southeast Farm Press. Full
Story
Dole Food Co. Inc's newly opened bagged salad plant
in Bessemer City, NC has the ultimate goal of providing
improved service to customers on the South and East
Coasts, reported ThePacker.com. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
The number of hungry people worldwide could grow
by more than 50% by 2020, as corn, sugar and other food
staples are increasingly devoted to making fuel,
according to the projections by two University of Minnesota
economists. The same trend would bring much higher food
prices to the U.S. and the rest of the developed world,
the economists predict, reported Star Tribune.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
 National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) prohibited directed
fishing for non-Community Development Quota pollock
with trawl gear in the Chinook Salmon Savings Areas
of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area.
Full
Notice
NMFS opened directed fishing
for pollock in Statistical Area 610 of the Gulf
of Alaska for 48 hours. Full
Notice
NMFS revised regulations
implementing the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988,
as amended, to reflect the changes agreed to in the
Third Extension of the Treaty on Fisheries between the
Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the
Government of the U.S. Full
Notice
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