|
11/19/2008
Washington state farmers are fighting a proposed 30,000-head feedlot, as they fear their wells could dry up if the feedlot is approved. Ecology officials at first approved the lot, but changed opinions once they told Easterday Ranches Inc. the exempt well could only be used for watering cattle, reported The Associated Press.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Drought conditions continue to grow harsher across north Georgia. Water levels in reservoirs and streams are at or near record lows across most of the region. Groundwater levels are also low, reported Southeast Farm Press.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
About 46 million turkeys will be consumed on Thanksgiving Day, about the same as in previous years, stated Sherrie Rosenblatt, spokeswoman for the National Turkey Federation, reported The Witchita Eagle.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
U.S. Sugar Corp. entered into an agreement with Coskata, Inc to explore building a 100 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol facility in Clewiston, FL. U.S. Sugar plans to work with USDA to secure some of the loan guarantee monies that have been set aside specifically for the production of non-food based biofuels.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The Florida's Natural Growers cooperative was able to pay above-average prices to about 1,000 member-growers for the second straight season. Growers received an average $1.48 per pound solids for early and midseason oranges, $1.71 for late-season Valencia oranges and 92 cents for grapefruit. That compares with average farm prices to Florida growers in 2007-08 of about $1.40 per pound solids for all oranges and 54 cents for grapefruit. Florida's Natural Growers managed to find $2.5 million in savings savings through higher labor productivity and various "green" initiatives, such as lighter packaging, adding solar panels to the plant that provide about 35% of its electricity and installing more energy-efficient lighting. The company processed 18.7 million boxes of oranges and grapefruit last season and expects to do the same this season, according to The Lakeland Ledger.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
USDA's National Organic Standards Board is currently considering whether fish may be classified as organic. Up until now, no seafood has been considered organic on the theory that there is no way to know what they are eating, reported USA Today.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
U.S. packaged food exports to Hong Kong may be affected by the Hong Kong government's amended Preservatives Regulation, which became effective July 1. The amended regulation's maximum permitted level for preservatives allowed in certain foods in Hong Kong may be lower than the U.S. standard in some cases. FAS Report
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Some 89% of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2007, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members, according to a new USDA report, Household Food Security in the U.S., 2007. The remaining households (11.1%) were food insecure at least some time during the year. About one-third of food insecure households (4.1% of all U.S. households) had very low food security, meaning that the food intake of one or more adults was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in a notice to be published in Wednesday's Federal Register, said it was making no changes to its controversial hours-of-service rule. FMCSA said it was adopting as final its interim final rule of Dec. 17, 2007, which maintained both the 11th hour of driving and the 34-hour restart provisions of the rule that had been overturned previously by a federal court for failing to provide proper notice for public comment and proper explanation of its reasoning.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the country's 15th case of mad cow disease in an animal from British Columbia. The agency claims no part of the seven-year-old cow's carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The future of the global agricultural expansion is in doubt as commodity prices are falling. As food prices increased in recent years, growers rushed to plant new farms, and a slowdown in new farmland development could hinder efforts to ease the global food shortage. Some agricultural analysts worry that when the world economy recovers, the food crisis will return, reported The Wall Street Journal.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
UK bee keepers are warning that there could be no domestically produced honey left on supermarket shelves by Christmas. Supplies are significantly down because a mite infestation killed off a quarter of the UK's honey bees this year, reported BBC News.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
UK inflation fell in October from a 16-year high, as food, oil and transport costs declined. The Consumer Prices Index measure dropped to 4.5% from 5.2% in September while the Retail Prices Index fell from 5% to 4.2%, the biggest decrease since 2003, reported BBC News.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Pot pie sales increase 23% in a down economy, according to The New York Times on the Web. For example, Twin Hens, Inc. recently reported a sales increase of 22% over October 2007.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Comax Flavors and Food Specialties entered into an agreement to work closely to serve international markets, particularly concentrating efforts in Asia, according to a company spokesperson, reported Food Navigator USA.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The beverage sector lags behind other industries in utilizing its advertising and marketing efforts to drive word of mouth , according to the Semi Annual Beverage Report by The Keller Fay Group. Some 47% of consumer conversations about brands in general cite at least one form of advertising or marketing as a source of information, while only 38% of conversations about beverages include mention of advertising or marketing as an information source. Increasing efforts can be critical to increasing consumers' purchase intent, since the findings indicate that word of mouth is even more likely to lead to purchase intent for beverages than for other categories (62% vs. 49%).
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The caloric value of gum arabic was reduced in the U.S., allowing companies to revise calorie counts on their labels. FDA sent a letter of no objection to a request for the caloric value to be changed from four to 1.7 calories per gram, reported Food Navigator USA.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. plans to close four U.S. facilities and three plants in Mexico, along with 30 Mexican distribution centers. The company will also take steps to streamline its organization in Europe in order to improve operating efficiencies and marketplace effectiveness. The company is eliminating over 3,000 jobs worldwide.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Some 72% of consumers feel that store brands are good alternatives to name brands and 62% of consumers consider store brands to be as good as name brands, marking a three point increase from 2005, according to a survey by The Nielsen Company. In addition, about 33% of consumers feel that some store brands are higher quality than name brands.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
InBev completed its acquisition of Anheuser-Busch and changed its name to Anheuser-Busch InBev.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
For the first time since April, the Producer Price Index for finished consumer foods declined last month, dropping 0.7%. This did little to change the annualized wholesale finished consumer foods index through Nov. 1, however, which remained 7.2% above a year ago, according to exclusive Food Institute analysis of just-released government data.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Tops Friendly Markets entered into a deal to sell Anchor Bar chicken wings at its grocery outlets in Western and Central New York and northwest Pennsylvania. The agreement makes Tops the first food retailer licensed to sell Anchor Bar Buffalo Wings in its 71-store chain, reported Business First of Buffalo.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
The recession will have a dramatic impact on a convenience store industry that will also be stymied by flat store growth and reduced consumer spending, according to Convenience Store News' 2009 Forecast Study. Nevertheless, the industry will fare better than most other retail channels because it sells products that are necessary, and not deemed luxury or discretionary by consumers, according to Maureen Maguire, president of ThinkResearch and CSNews' research partner on the Forecast Study.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Started in 1979 as a bar and wings restaurant, Taco Mac expanded to become a major player in the Atlanta casual dining market with more than 20 locations. It has three more restaurants planned in 2009. The parent company also will open a new concept called Deckard's, a slightly more upscale restaurant. Taco Mac's only location outside of metro Atlanta is in Chattanooga, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|
|
11/19/2008
Famous Dave's of America, Inc. pulled out of the Atlanta, GA market, closing its three restaurants. The company also terminated two leases for restaurants expected to open in 2009, in Hoffman Estates, IL and Hyattsville, MD. Famous Dave's is reevaluating its future sites based on changing site demographic profiles and commercial real estate values, improving the unit level economics of its existing restaurant base and developing and refining a smaller, more cost-effective prototype.
--
IFDA Daily Update
|