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Retail News
Whole
Foods is reducing planned store openings to about 15, down
from its May estimate of 25 to 30. In addition, the 270-unit
supermarket chain cut its budget for capital expenditures
unrelated to new stores by 50%. Full
Story
Publix
Super Markets is expected to reopen every Albertsons it
purchased and keep open virtually all of its current
Publix stores nearby. Speculation is rampant that a few will
reopen under the Sabor or Greenwise flags. Some may be
retooled into a Publix even if another Publix is two blocks
away. "It's not uncommon for us to run two stores within a
stone's throw to relieve store congestion, or under the other
Publix banners," said spokeswoman Maria Brous. The chain's
goal: add most of Albertsons' 8% share of the Tampa Bay food
market to Publix's current 38%. Publix also has seven new
stores in the pipeline that will open in the next 18 months,
according to The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration
Required)
As
the popularity and demand for "locally grown" products
increases, supermarkets, farm stands, and farmer's markets
are finding themselves competing in a relatively narrow
market, reported The New York Times on the Web.
"The whole commercial value of local is just now being
appreciated by retail," stated Bill Bishop, chairman of
Willard Bishop. "It's a little bit behind the curve." Notably,
the 165-unit Hannaford Brothers chain experienced a 20%
increase in "locally grown" sales" in the last year, stating
that in company surveys, "82% of all customers told us loud
and clear, locally grown produce tastes better." Full Story (Free Registration
Required)
Home
Depot is pleased with the performance of its pilot network of
six Fuel-branded convenience stores in Tennessee and
Georgia and will continue to monitor their progress, according
to a company spokesperson, reported CSP Daily News. Full
Story
Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. signed an agreement for the
development of 41 new Arby's restaurants throughout the New
York Metropolitan area over the next 10 years with Charles
Chera of RCNY Restaurants, LLC. Full Story
Substantially
all of Rockfish Seafood Grill, LLC's assets relating to its
Rockfish restaurants was acquired by a group of private
investors. Rockfish is a casual dining restaurant company that
operates 14 restaurants principally in the DFW Metroplex, with
additional units located in Houston, Lubbock, and Durham,
North Carolina. Full Story
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market will open four
stores in California. The company will open its first
store in the San Fernando Valley and another in Hesperia, CA
on Aug. 6. Next week, the company will open a store in San
Diego and another in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los
Angeles. Full Story
Manufacturer News
Reed's, Inc. formed an enhanced partnership with Big
Y Supermarkets, under which Big Y committed to begin
carrying Reed's full product line at all 57 Big Y locations
and one Fresh Acres location throughout New England. Full Story
 Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Ohev Sholom-The National
Synagogue opines on the implications of alleged abusive
practices at Agriprocessors Inc., the U.S.' largest Kosher
food plant, in The New York Times on the Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. will open a
334,000-sq. ft. manufacturing and distribution facility in
East Tennessee. It will focus primarily on the production of
K-Cup portion packs for the Keurig single-cup coffee brewing
system. Full Story
Febreze will offer two new products this summer:
Febreze Candles Pet Odor Eliminator and Febreze NOTICEables
Pet Odor Eliminator. Full Story
The H. J. Heinz Company launched its new global
corporate website - www.heinz.com. Full Story
Foodservice News
BUCA, Inc. agreed to be acquired by Planet Hollywood
International, Inc. BUCA signed a definitive agreement
with Planet Hollywood under which an acquisition
subsidiary owned by Planet Hollywood will seek to acquire all
of the shares of BUCA at a price of $0.45 per share of common
stock. BUCA owns and operates 88 Italian restaurants under the
name Buca di Beppo in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
Full Story
Gelato restaurant Gelazzi is planning to open 100
company-owned stores over the next five years in Texas,
Florida, Arizona, Southern California, and Georgia, reported
The Denver Post. Full Story
P.F. Chang's China Bistro introduced four new grill
dishes, a spicy shrimp appetizer and new cocktails. The
dishes include Chang's Sichuan Steak Flatbread, Dynamite
Shrimp, Chang's Wedge with Grilled Steak, Sesame Crusted Ahi
Tuna, and Slow-Braised Short Ribs with Pineapple Fried Rice.
Full Story
Health News
Eating broccoli could reverse the damage caused by
diabetes to heart blood vessels, research suggests. A
compound in the vegetable, sulforaphane, encourages production
of enzymes which protect the blood vessels as well as a
reduction in high levels of molecules which cause significant
cell damage, according to University of Warwick scientists,
reported BBC News. Full Story
Washington News
In what is being called the largest hacking and
identity theft ring ever exposed, federal prosecutors
charged 11 people with stealing more than 41 million credit
and debit card numbers from national chains including BJ's
Wholesale Club and Boston Market. Full Story
Four Italian pasta producers sold product at less than
normal value to the U.S., according to a preliminary
review by the Commerce Department. If these preliminary
results are adopted in the final results of this
administrative review, the department will instruct U.S.
Customs and Border Protection to assess antidumping duties on
all appropriate entries of subject merchandise for the period
from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Full Notice
FDA will hold a public meeting and is seeking comments
to implement the recommendations of the Nanotechnology
Task Force Report. The Report's recommendations address
covered foods (including dietary supplements), food and color
additives (including food contact substances), animal drugs
and feeds, cosmetics, human drugs and biologics, and medical
devices. In addition to requesting comments in response to the
questions in this notice and those that will be discussed at
the public meeting, FDA is announcing a request for available
data and information on the effects of nanoscale materials on
quality, safety, and, where relevant, effectiveness of
products subject to FDA oversight. Full Notice
USDA is requesting input from the public on its
effort to prepare a Strategic Plan for Climate Change
Research, Education, and Extension. Full Notice
DBC, Inc., doing business as World Class Canapes, Inc.,
initiated a voluntary recall of approximately 285-lbs. of
ready-to-eat chicken products because they may be contaminated
with Listeria monocytogenes. Full Story
Global News
China is temporarily shutting down factories that
produce 80% of the world's vitamin C as part of efforts to
improve air quality in Beijing for the Olympics. Experts are
expecting shortages and resulting price increases, reported
McClatchy. Full Story
Intertek opened a food testing laboratory in the
southwest area of Beijing, China to offer an array of
services to manufacturers, distributors, and retailers who
produce, import, buy and sell food products in Beijing and
Northern China. Full Story
China's SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc. plans to officially
introduce its concentrated peach juice product to the market
in 2009 after a successful test by its 99% owned
subsidiary, Shaanxi Tianren Organic Food Co., Ltd. Demand for
peach juice is reportedly strong in East and Southeast Asia.
Full Story
UK-based firm Ungerer developed a range of
fruit flavors that uses fruit fibers as carriers in place of
maltodextrose or wheatstarch, making a natural ingredient
out of a by-product that can also boost food's fiber content,
reported Food Production Daily. Full
Story
Clearly Canadian Brands signed a letter of intent to
acquire Crofters Food Ltd., a manufacturer, producer and
marketer of organic jams and spreads. Full Story
An anti-obesity tax is being proposed in France,
which would be applied to sweet and fatty foods, according to
a new report. The plan would target foods such as pizzas and
hamburgers as well as sodas and alcohol, and calls for the
value added tax rate to be lifted from 5.5% to 19.6% on all
food stuffs considered "too rich, too sweet, too salty and
which are not strictly necessary," reported AFP. Full Story
Yogen Fruz signed development
agreements for 29 stores in Argentina and 21 stores in
Peru. The master franchisee for Argentina and Peru is
Fruzco Chile SA, which opened 24 Yogen Fruz stores in Chile to
date and is scheduled to open 5 other stores in Chile before
year's end, with further expansion in that country. Full Story
Fairtrade nut company Liberation released its second
range of products: Fairtrade crunchy and smooth peanut
butters. The peanuts come from farming groups in Malawi,
Mozambique, and Nicaragua which are co-owners of the company,
along with other farming groups in Asia and Latin America,
reported Talking Retail. Full Story
Spanish chocolate company Natra launched a chocolate bar
for the private label market. The bar features a biscuit
base with a strip of cream on top mixed with either muesli,
red fruits, or cereals, reported Food Navigator. Full Story
Market News
Prices
for jalapeños grown in the U.S. increased after FDA
cleared domestic jalapeños and serrano peppers in its
investigation of a Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak on July
25,
reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Subscription Required)
BP
formed a strategic partnership with Verenium Corporation
to accelerate the development and commercialization of
cellulosic ethanol. Under the initial phase of the strategic
alliance, Verenium is to receive $90 million in total funding
from BP over the next 18 months for rights to current and
future technology held within the partnership. Full
Story
Developing
new wheat varieties with improved disease resistance, stress
tolerance and other desirable traits is the goal of
Agricultural Research Service scientists based at four
regional small-grains genotyping centers. Insects and diseases
pose a constant threat to the crop's productivity, but new
advances in the field of genomics are speeding scientists'
identification of new traits to keep wheat healthy and
productive in the face of these and other threats. Full
Story
Buffalo,
NY-based Petit Jean Poultry Plant will close by Oct. 4
as the plant lost a meat processing contract with Tyson
Chicken, reported KSPR News. Full
Story
Consumers positively rated grass-fed beef in a
recent study conducted by Penn State's College of Agricultural
Sciences. Most consumers find the taste and tenderness of
grass-fed beef acceptable in blind taste tests, according to
John Comerford, associate professor of dairy and animal
science, reported Meat & Poultry. Full Story
The National Mango Board launched an online marketing
tool kit to help growers, shippers, importers,
distributors, and retailers increase consumption. The
point-of-sale materials, which are available in English and
Spanish, cover topics such as selecting mango varieties,
choosing and cutting mangoes, nutrition facts and recipes,
reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Free Registration
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