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Industry
News
Opportunities may be on the horizon
in Indiana for the Greensboro, NC-based Fresh Market
chain as Marsh supermarkets will be closing its
Fort Wayne lifestyle concept store by the end of the
month, reported the Journal Gazette. Full
Story
Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation and its Houston
area franchisee, Lone Star Doughnuts, Ltd., are ending
their existing franchisor-franchisee relationship.
As of Mar. 8, Lone Star's six locations will cease to
be operated as Krispy Kreme stores. Full
Story
 USA Today examines whether low-fat food
products will be impacted by a federal study that determined
there is no beneficial link between low-fat diets and
lower incidence of cancer or heart disease. Food
products touting less fat posted $35.6 billion in 2005
in U.S. sales, up 4.5% in a year, according to ACNielsen.
In 2005, 75% of people had a low-fat or no-fat item
at least once in two weeks, vs. the peak of 87% in 1999,
reports NPD Group. Full
Story
Delek USA, owner of 349-unit MAPCO Express convenience
store chain, has filed papers with the SEC, initiating
steps to go public, reported CSP News. Full
Story
Latest
sales & earnings for food related companies
(Updated Daily)
The value of restaurant chain real estate is
driving interest in both fast food and casual chains,
as Pirate Capital paid $58.8 million for a 7% stake
in CKE Restaurants, parent of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's
last week. Cracker Barrel, Outback Steakhouse, Bob Evans
and Brinker International, also may be targeted according
to The New York Times on the Web. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. hopes to expand a new
distribution method being tested at Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. that some smaller bottlers worry could threaten
their exclusive sales territories. Last month, Coca-Cola
began delivering shipments of its Powerade sports drink
to a Wal-Mart warehouse in Texas, marking a shift from
the decades-long system of direct-store delivery, known
as DSD, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
 The
average American now eats a frozen meal about six times
a month, and this number is growing, according to
the American Frozen Food Institute. Frozen entrees are
especially popular with dieters because they allow better
portion control and come with healthy options, reported
the Staten Island Advance. Full
Story
Expansion is on the plate for the Albanese Confectionary
Group Inc., whose primary customers are small gourmet
retailers located across the country who seek its Gummi
Bears. The firm will be adding 75,000-sq. ft. to its
factory and retail location in Hobart, IN, reported
the Post Tribune. Full
Story
Russia's entire vodka industry has ground to
a halt, thanks to a new tax that was supposed to
tighten state control of alcohol and crack down on counterfeit
spirits. So far, the disruption has had little effect
on big cities like Moscow, where distributors, sensing
trouble ahead, amassed huge stocks late last year. In
remote regions, popular brands of vodka have vanished
from store shelves, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Nature's Path is
launching LifeStream whole grain and flax pastas,
reported Brandweek.com. Full
Story
The Pantry, Inc. completed the acquisition
of 19 convenience stores in North Carolina from
Lee-Moore Oil Company, which has been operating the
stores under the TruBuy and On-The-Run banners. Full
Story
International News
The
deadly strain of bird flu has been confirmed on three
more farms in Nigeria, where thousands of chickens
have died, reported BBC News. Full
Story
Azerbaijan confirmed the deadly strain of avian
flu in dead birds from its Caspian Sea coast. Full
Story
By rapidly expanding its whale
hunt, Japan kills more of the mammals than its consumers
care to eat. The result is an unprecedented excess
of whale meat. Prices, once about $15 a pound, are plunging,
inventories are bursting, and promoters are scrambling
to get Japanese to eat more whale, reported Houston
Chronicle. Full
Story
Denmark-based Danisco A/S plans to close three facilities
and reduce sugar production by 100,000 tons to comply
with new EU sugar export rules and to maintain profitability.
The company will close sugar factories in Denmark, Sweden
and Finland after the 2006 beet processing campaign,
reported Forbes.com. Full
Story
Domino's Pizza Australia/New Zealand launched a
new expansion strategy focused on small stores and regional
towns. If is successful, Domino's expects to be
able to increase its store target for the countries
to over 600 locations, according to a company representative,
reported The Advertiser. Full
Story
Health News
Studies of flavor
preferences and aversions suggest that flavor perception
may be linked to the nutritional or health value
of foods, according to researchers in the journal Science,
reported Tri-City Herald. Full
Story (Free Registration Required), Journal
Article
Washington News
The Washington state Senate passed a bill
that would allow out-of-state wineries and breweries
to distribute directly to Washington stores, reported
The Seattle Times. Full
Story
The U.S. International Trade Commission determined
that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason
of imports of certain orange juice from Brazil that
Commerce has determined are sold in the U.S. at less
than fair value. Full
Notice
Federal agents seized about 22,700 gallons
of "oil" in Clifton, NJ after the FDA
found that the Hermes and San Giovanni brands had been
substituting soybean oil for some of their extra virgin
and pomace olive oil, reported NorthJersey.com.
Full
Story
Market News
An additional $100 million will be made available
to compensate Florida citrus growers who have lost
trees due to the citrus canker eradication program.
Full
Story
California's cheese production reached a record
2.14 billion pounds in 2005, according to a preliminary
report by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The state's cheese production grew by 7.1% last year,
nearly three times the rate of cheese production growth
reported nationally (2.6%). Full
Story
Thailand is set to become the first country allowed
to send irradiated fruits to the U.S., according
to a Jan. 31 agreement signed in Bangkok between Thai
and U.S. officials, reported The Produce News.
Full
Story, USDA
Release
California strawberry production increased almost
50% compared to last January, which was also a record-setting
month. Farmers sold more than 40 million pounds of strawberries
last month. Some supermarkets will feature special prices
on strawberries before Valentine's Day, providing consumers
ample supplies, reported California Farm Bureau Federation.
Commerce updated the antidumping duty margins for
crawfish tail meat from China for Yancheng Hi-King
Agriculture Developing Co. to 32.6%, based on final
Spanish import statistics. Full
Notice
Japan will send inspectors to U.S. beef facilities,
amid the country's ban on American meat. The inspections
will include a stop at a Tyson Foods Inc. facility in
Kansas, reported The Japan Times Online. Full
Story
NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts
of pollock from the Aleutian Islands subarea to the
Bering Sea subarea, to allow the 2006 total allowable
catch of pollock in the subarea to be harvested. Full
Notice
NMFS is implementing a yellowtail flounder trip
limit of 1,500 lbs. per day, up to a maximum of 15,000
lbs. per trip, for NE multispecies Days-at-Sea vessels
fishing in both the Western and Eastern U.S./Canada
Areas. This action is being taken to slow the rate of
harvest of GB yellowtail flounder. Full
Notice
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