Stagnito's Daily Brief

The U.S. is the largest market for organic foods and beverages in the world and is projected to reach sales of over $43 billion by the year 2010, according to Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Meanwhile, the global organic foods and beverages market is delivering strong double-digit annual growth as health and wellness become increasingly important to consumers. Full Story

Kroger Co.'s acquisition of 20 Farmer Jack stores will make it the target of several grocery chains, which are competing for market share in the Detroit area, reported Crain's Detroit Business. Competition will come from chains such as Meijer Inc. Hiller's Markets Inc., Busch's Inc., as well as Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Market and Papa Joe's Gourmet Market. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Private equity investor TSG Consumer Partners L.L.C. sold its full interest in Harry's Fresh Foods, as part of the acquisition of Harry's by Basic American Foods. Full Story

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Information Resources, Inc. extended its business relationship with 7-Eleven, Inc. Under the new agreement, the IRI 7-Exchange Program will continue and IRI will now have access to all of 7-Eleven's U.S.-based point of sale store data, including the recently acquired White Hen stores, for its convenience tracking service. Full Story

7-Eleven, Inc. signed a three-year agreement with Javo Beverage Company, Inc. to supply coffee beverages that may be served over ice at participating 7-Eleven stores on the East and West coasts. Full Story

Tao Las Vegas is the highest grossing independent restaurant in the U.S., ringing up $55.2 million in business in 2006, according to Restaurants & Institutions. The company earned $16 million more than its closest competitor Tavern on the Green in New York, according to a profile of its operation in The New York Times On The Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The CEO of Nestlé SA is pushing an aggressive plan to discard weak brands and simplify the organization. He has eliminated thousands of items including low-carb KitKats and lemon cheesecake-flavored chocolate and plans to cut hundreds more by the end of the year, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Max & Erma's Restaurants Inc. plans to build 15 to 30 restaurants per year over the next five years in Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee and Jacksonville, FL, reported Jacksonville Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Schlotzsky's Ltd. is planning to open 12 locations over the next five years in the Houston area, part of a national growth strategy that calls for the company to open 50 restaurants a year, reported Houston Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Made in Japan Teriyaki Experience will open five San Francisco Bay Area outlets by year-end, part of an expansion plan to open many outlets in one area quickly to grab market share, reported East Bay Business Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Tavistock Restaurants purchased Freebirds World Burrito, which will continue to operate as an independent brand in the Tavistock Restaurants portfolio, reported QSR Magazine. Full Story

Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. is moving production of its prepackaged ground coffee to its Brooklyn Center facility in response to better-than-expected sales of the product, reported Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Savona Foods and Stavola Foodservice merged to form Savona-Stavola, joining their combined foodservice experience and strengths in distribution servicing New Jersey, Delaware, and Eastern Pennsylvania. Full Story

At least half a dozen restaurants closed in South Florida due to rising rents, insurance, property taxes and gasoline prices, reported The Miami Herald. In March, gross restaurant receipts dropped 13.5% in Broward County and 9.9% in Miami-Dade over the same month last year, according to state sales tax data. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Brazil is now the second-largest beef producer in the world after the U.S., producing more than nine million tons, up from six million a decade ago. Brazil's new productivity is directed mainly at export markets. The country exported more than 2.4 million tons last year, reported The Los Angeles Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Britain-based Pret A Manger may take advantage of interest from several competing private equity firms in order to expand its sandwich chain into the U.S., according to the Financial Mail. The company was originally considering an initial public offering. However, the company could not be reached to comment, reported Reuters. Full Story

Carrefour plans to sell 12 hypermarkets in Portugal, according to Diario Economico. French group Auchan is the most likely buyer, seeking to add Carrefour's shops to the 15 hypermarkets and two supermarkets it already operates in Portugal, stated the paper, reported Sharewatch.com. Full Story

China's growing coffee demand and limited production capacity will gradually turn the country into a major coffee importer, according to a senior official of one of the country's coffee companies. China's coffee consumption grew by an annual rate of 18% from 1999 to 2005, while global coffee consumption only grew by 3% a year, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

China exports more than 80% of the world's ascorbic acid and has cut production over the past several months. As a result prices increased by more than 200% to a four-year high, according to CBSNEWS.com. Full Story

USDA distributed $1.1 billion over seven years to the estates or companies of deceased farmers and routinely failed to conduct reviews required to ensure that the payments were properly made, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In a selection of 181 cases from 1999 to 2005, the officials approved payments without any review 40% of the time, the GAO found, reported The Washington Post. In a letter responding to the GAO report, USDA said that the payments were not necessarily examples of fraud or abuse and that auditors did not prove any specific cases of cheating. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Union workers for Ralphs Grocery Co. in Southern California ratified a new contract with the company. The four-year contract, effective immediately, covers more than 19,000 employees. Full Story

Castleberry's Food Company expanded its July 19 recall of canned meat products that may contain Clostridium botulinum. Full Notice

Meanwhile, the Georgia plant that made canned chili sauce suspected in the botulism outbreak had a production problem about two months ago, reported CBSNEWS.com. Full Story

Nissin Foods Co., Inc. issued a recall of selected shrimp-flavored noodle products as a safety precaution. It was discovered that the seafood-flavored powder used in these products also contains cod and lobster. Full Notice

Dairy prices are expected to remain at current high levels for the remainder of this year, but will likely moderate in 2008, according to USDA projections. Meanwhile, pork prices are projected to remain near year earlier levels in the third quarter of 2007, but increase slightly above 2006 levels in the fourth quarter. Growth in broiler production is expected to increase in the second half of 2007, yet prices for most broiler products are projected to level off or decline slightly compared with the first-half of the year prices. As for beef, cattle prices are expected to decline from first half levels during 2007's second-half, but will still be above year earlier levels. Full Story

Countries in the market to buy significant amounts of wheat this summer will have to look to the U.S., as other major exporters are suffering production problems, according to analysts. It remains to be seen, however, whether decade-high U.S. futures prices will scare away importers from buying U.S. wheat, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Members of the California Leafy Greens Handler Marketing Agreement (LGMA) can use a service mark beginning July 23, which certifies their membership in the program. The service mark will be used on bills of lading and to indicate a handler's commitment to Good Agricultural Practices that are audited by the LGMA, reported California Department of Food and Agriculture. Full Story

California grape growers are concerned because they do not know what wineries will pay for the portion of their fruit not under contract. Growers are hoping a new public relations campaign aimed at raising the state's global profile and increasing the space given to California wines by retailers will help, reported The Fresno Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

It will be two to three weeks before growers can assess the extent of the damage in Chile's avocado growing areas from a recent hard freeze, but some California shippers who handle imported Chilean avocados estimate a crop reduction in the range of 15%-30%, reported The Produce News. Full Story

The Potato Growers of Idaho will close and most of its functions will be assumed by the Idaho Potato Commission, reported ThePacker.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

USDA's Catfish Processing report released 3:00 p.m. (ET), July 23. View Report