Industry News

Food-at-home prices advanced 0.8% during February from the prior month and the food-at-home inflation rate thus far into 2007 is 2.3% - slightly greater than the overall inflation rate of 2.25%, according to Food Institute analysis of just-released government data. Full Story

Landry's Restaurants, Inc. sent a new letter offering to acquire the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group for $9.75 per share in cash. This offer represents a $.50 premium to the offer of the Patina Restaurant Group. Full Story

Kroger Co. would not be opposed to doing 'an acquisition of size,' but prefers smaller deals to fill in its presence in markets where it already has stores, the company's chief financial officer said, reported Reuters. Full Story

Healthy options offering convenience and sacrifice-free taste dominated Information Resources Inc.'s ranking of the top ten food and beverage new product pacesetters, led by Kraft South Beach Diet and Dreyer's Edy's Slow Churned ice cream. This past year was one of the most active in recent history for CPG new product introductions; however, success rates have changed little over the past decade, with less than 5% reaching $50 million or more in year-one sales, according to IRI. Full Story

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

Glory Foods will introduce its new Savory Sauerkraut, Sauerkraut with Apples, Dirty Rice and Creole Rice lines to Columbus, OH-area supermarkets. Its products are now in 140 grocery retail chains and 15,000 stores nationwide, including Kroger and Wal-Mart, reported The Columbus Dispatch. Full Story

Consumers' attraction to alternatives to regular carbonated beverages is evident across foodservice segments, according to Restaurants & Institutions. While some customers prefer organic sodas, others opt for bottled sparkling juices at restaurants. Full Story

Starbucks, PepsiCo and Hershey were among this year's BusinessWeek 50, which represents the magazine's choice of the "best in class" from the 10 economic sectors that make up the S&P 500, who are setting the agenda in their industries. Full Story

The Lenten season is busy for seafood chains, especially in areas with large Catholic populations. The chains increase advertising and roll out new products to entice customers. At Long John Silver's, for example, many of its more than 1,100 domestic restaurants generate nearly a third of yearlong sales during Lent, a company executive said, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

Denny's completed the systemwide roll out of a non-trans fat alternative fry shortening in all 1,545 restaurants. Full Story

Spending on the contactless hardware, software, and services market will reach $800 million by 2011, up from just $260 million in 2006, according to a report published by ABI Research. Contactless payment deployments are quickly expanding around the world, because they speed retail payments and public transportation. However, these two largest contactless applications remain mostly separate, limiting the uptake of contactless cards and delaying the transition of contactless payment technologies into mobile phones. Full Story

A division of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., Southern Wine & Spirits of New York Inc., will acquire certain assets of Eber-NDC, LLC, Eber Bros. Wine & Liquor Corp., including the House of Burgundy and the Liberty Wine Company divisions, all based in New York in a transaction anticipated to close on March 31. Full Story

Scotch whisky firms sold a billion bottles overseas last year for the first time since 2001, however, the industry continues its fight against counterfeiters. Chinese exports have been expanding at more than 80% a year while the Indian market boasts almost limitless potential for growth despite the fact that high import tariffs currently restrict scotch to a minimal market share, reported BBC News. Full Story

Michael Groover, husband to restaurateur, and TV Food Network star Paula Deen, has partnered with Savannah Coffee Roasters, a Savannah-based company, to develop new products that will expand the family's business. Full Story

In response to a recent Stagnito Daily Brief survey, 21% of respondents agreed with the statement, "The USDA and FDA will merge within the next two years," while 79% disagreed.

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International News

UK-based Premier Foods PLC completed its $2.4 billion acquisition of RHM PLC, the maker of Bistro gravy. Premier Foods' brands include Branston Pickle and Angel Delight puddings, according to The Associated Press. Full Story

Heineken wants to bring the Starbucks Coffee experience to beer by opening a chain of Heineken bars worldwide. The first Heineken Bar, operated by Select Service Partner, opened at Hong Kong's International Airport. Heineken will open more locations at airports across major cities on five continents in the near future, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. plans to double the amount of Chinese cities where it sells its Budweiser beer over the next five years. The Budweiser brand claims only 2% of the overall market in China, but 40% of the premium brand segment, according to the brewer, reported Reuters. Full Story

The Netherlands-based InBev NV extended the period of the voluntary offer to buy out shares in Argentina's Quinsa to April 2. InBev brews Stella Artois, Beck's and Brahma beer brands, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

Health News

Fewer than a third of American adults eat the amount of fruits and vegetables the government recommends, a trend that's remained steady for more than a decade, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Senior citizens were more likely than others to eat more veggies, while younger adults, age 18 to 24, ate the fewest vegetables, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

Washington News

U.S. federal spending on nutrition and health care programs for children will likely shrink as a share of the total budget over the next decade, according to a new report by the Urban Institute. The report indicates that children's programs would represent 13% of domestic spending by 2017, down from about 15% in 2006. Programs focused on children totaled $333 billion last year and would increase $36 billion by 2017 under current law, the study said, reported The New York Times on the Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required), Executive Summary

The U.S. International Trade Commission determined that revoking the existing antidumping duty order on canned pineapple fruit from Thailand would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. As a result of the Commission's affirmative determination, the existing order on imports of canned pineapple fruit from Thailand will remain in place. Full Story

Market News

The California Rice Commission called for a moratorium on experimental plantings of genetically modified rice in the state, saying federal controls meant to keep such varieties from contaminating commercial rice are inadequate, reported The Fresno Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)