IGA Coca-Cola Institute Perspective

Visit the Institute Web site to View our New Web-based Course

A message to IGA Retailers from...
David Chen
International Course Developer
IGA Coca-Cola Institute

Today I am pleased to announce that the IGA Coca-Cola Institute is offering a new online course: Food Safety and Sanitation Basics.

This new course was first suggested to us by an IGA Retailer who stressed that in the wake of recent food safety issues, his team -- and the consumers who shop in his store -- have become increasingly more concerned about safety and sanitation issues. As a result, he wanted to help his entry-level associates develop a better understanding of the core food safety and sanitation principles.

The resulting hour-long Food Safety and Sanitation Basics course introduces students to the best practices of these operations as outlined in the 2005 FDA Food Code, including storing at the right temperature, avoiding cross contamination, and accepting food from safe sources. This course should be prerequisite for all entry level associates to ensure they are taking every measure possible to handle food safely.

For more information about this course or to give a suggestion for our next course, visit the Institute Web site at http://www.igainstitute.com/ or call 1-800-321-5442.

Thank you for your time,

David Chen

Retail News

Nearly six out of 10 Americans say they have had to cut back on the quantity or quality of food they buy because of increasing prices, according to The 2008 Hormel Hunger Survey, conducted by Hormel Foods Corporation. Most Americans (67%) say that food prices increased a lot since last year, and six out of 10 Americans (61%) say that corn-based ethanol is at least partly responsible for higher food prices. Full Story

Skinny Nutritional Corp. entered into an agreement with Redner's Markets to carry and market its products. Full Story

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market will open 11 new stores in Arizona. Full Story

Hot Stuff Foods unveiled its "Store of the Future," which is designed to provide multiple food solutions for increased convenience and store profitability, reported Convenience Store News. Full Story

Every Safeway fuel station nationwide is now participating in the PowerPump program, which gives Safeway Club cardmembers 10-cents off per gallon of fuel for every $100 spent. Through a partnership with BP, customers can also redeem savings at participating BP and ARCO stations. Full Story

Manufacturer News

Church & Dwight Co. is introducing its new Arm & Hammer Essentials, cleaning products boiled down to their active ingredients, according to the company. The product's marketer claims a 25% lower cost and 80% reduction in packaging than conventional cleaners, as consumers fill the bottle with water at home and empty a small bottle of the cleaning ingredient into it, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

B&G Foods, Inc. began implementing a 7.5% reduction in its workforce. Full Story

Natural antimicrobial compounds could be used to improve the microbiological stability of amaranth pasta, according to a study to be published in Food Microbiology. Scientists working in the Department of Food Science at the University of Foggia claim that the shelf life of amaranth-based homemade fresh pasta could be extended by up to 25 days with use of the polysaccharide chitosan, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story, Study Abstract

Kraft Foods Inc. decreased its list price for Maxwell House and Yuban roast and ground coffees by $.010 per lb, according to a company spokesperson. The company also lowered the list price for its instant coffees by $.03 per ounce, claiming that the drop was the result of lower green coffee prices, reported Reuters. Full Story

Foodservice News

In 2008, the average Zagat surveyor ate out 3.3 times per week and spent an average $34.21 for a typical dinner, a 2.8% increase over last year, according to Zagat Survey's 2009 America's Top Restaurants survey. However, due to the economy, 33% are eating out less often and are more aware of menu prices, 28% are eating in less expensive places and about 20% are cutting back on alcohol, appetizers and desserts. Full Story

McDonald's Corp. is exploring possible changes to its Double Cheeseburger dollar menu item, stated CEO James Skinner, as the company is discussing the issue with franchisees. Changes could be made to the popular double cheeseburger, which McDonald's tested with only one piece of cheese, instead calling the sandwich a double hamburger with cheese, reported Crain's Chicago Business. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

T.G.I. Friday's restaurants will open four new T.G.I. Friday's restaurants located within casinos in Las Vegas over the next six weeks. Full Story

Smashburger's first franchisee member, the Mascott Corporation, will open 30 franchise locations in New Jersey. The company plans to open 10 to 15 stores by the end of 2008 and 30 to 60 stores by the end of 2009. Full Story

P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc. will close 10 Pei Wei restaurants before the end of 2008 due to less than expected performance, but will add locations in 2009 as it reported increased revenue and a drop in profits for the quarter ended Sept. 28. Full Story

Health News

Diets heavy in fried foods, salty snacks and meat account for about 35% of heart attacks globally, according to a study of dietary patterns in 52 countries, reported Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Full Story, Study Abstract

Tumor growth was almost completely halted in mice that were given polyphenols extracted from merlot grapes and red wine, according to research from Canada's University of Guelph published in Nutrition Research. Polyphenols are commonly found in grapes and berries, reported The Globe and Mail. Full Story (Free Registration Required), Study Abstract

Washington News

Metromedia Steakhouses Company, L.P. and certain of its affiliates, which operate a chain of restaurants under the Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse brands, filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company will reorganize around its franchise operations and a profitable core of company-operated restaurants. Ponderosa Franchising Company, Ponderosa International Development, Inc. and Bonanza Restaurant Company, which are subsidiaries of the Company and are the franchisors of the Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse brands, were not included in the Chapter 11 filing. Full Story

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas approved the acquisition of Bennigan's Franchising Company, L.P. by affiliates of Atalaya Capital Management. The deal is expected to close on or before Oct. 31. Presently, Bennigan's is working with both existing and new franchisees to re-open up to 60 previously closed company-owned restaurants as well as open new franchisee-owned locations both domestically and internationally. Full Story

Hundreds of discrimination complaints by minority farmers were unprocessed by USDA, according to a new GAO report. The document reports on efforts by black, minority and women farmers to receive loans and other services from USDA. The report found that USDA's civil rights office did not keep an accurate count of the number of discrimination complaints outstanding, and the data collected was unreliable, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required), Full Report

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Gonnella Baking Co. for allegedly retaliating against employees who complained about racial harassment. The EEOC claimed that the Chicago-based breadmaker violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging "in discrimination against a class of employees of Mexican national origin" at its Aurora facility, reported Crain's Chicago Business. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Nonna's Real Italiana Cuccine initiated a voluntary recall of its Stuffed Artichokes because it contains undeclared milk, soy and wheat. Full Story

Harry and David initiated a voluntary recall of its Moose Munch Confection, Milk Chocolate Gingerbread because the package may contain a different Moose Munch product which contains undeclared pecans. Full Story

Global News

Nearly 800 workers at Loblaw Cos Ltd.'s 13 Maxi stores went on strike over wages and benefits. Seven of the stores affected by the strike were in the greater Quebec City area, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 503, reported Reuters. Full Story

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. started distributing meat from the Toronto plant associated with the listeriosis outbreak after getting clearance from health officials. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will continue to require samples of all meat from the plant to test negative for the bacteria before the company can distribute it, reported Reuters. Full Story

SunOpta Grains and Foods Group signed an agreement to distribute the Daabon Organic USA Inc. product line of organic shortenings, stearins and olein, produced under the FreshPress brand from organic palm oil. The Company's joint venture with Colorado Mills to develop a 35 million pound oilseed refinery focused on expeller-pressed, trans-fat free sunflower oil and soy oil products and is on target for a spring 2009 start-up. Full Story

Couche-Tard signed a deal with Nexopia.com, a social networking utility in Canada, which allows Nexopia members to buy subscriptions to the website at more than 290 Mac's convenience store locations across Western Canada. Full Story

Japanese supermarket sales fell 2.2% in September compared with the previous year, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association. Sales hit ¥1.03 trillion on an all-store basis covering 8,680 outlets run by 71 companies, reported The Japan Times. Full Story

The UK 's wheat production was up a third from last year, according to the National Farmers' Union. The increase, to 17.6 metric tons, followed higher yields and a 13% increase in the area of land planted with wheat to 2.1m hectares, reported The Financial Times. Full Story

China Organic Agriculture, Inc. will begin distributing soybeans, kidney beans and mushrooms. China Organic concurrently signed an agreement to acquire the trademark "Xiaoxinganling," an organic brand name in China's northeast. China Organic's wholly owned subsidiary, Ankang Agriculture Ltd., will acquire the Xiaoxinganling trademark from Jiayin County Daming Agriculture Byproducts Co. Ltd., along with the distribution channel of several food products. Full Story

Wal-Mart opened its first energy-saving store in Beijing. The new store will consume 23% less electricity and 17% less water annually than a typical Wal-Mart store in 2005, reported The Associated Foreign Press. Full Story

Market News

Florida orange growers can expect an average farm price of just $1.25 per pound solids this season, an 11% decline from last season, according to Mark Brown, chief economist for the Florida Department of Citrus. Processors are currently offering 85 cents per pound solids for early-mid oranges, but Brown based his projections on the current cash market plus multi-year contracts with processors, which typically have a floor price which can run from $1.25 to $1.70 per pound solids, according to The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Mexico's watermelon crop volumes may be lower than normal because "overall growing costs are getting out of control," according to Brent Harrison, president of Al Harrison Distributors. Mr. Harrison stated the weak economy also might limit the amount of financing importers can give their grower partners, reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Subscription Required)

While it accounts for 80% of the U.S. catch, the price of Maine lobster is falling due to a drop-off in demand. In addition, the global banking crisis left Canadian processors short on credit, leaving Maine lobstermen and dealers with too much supply, reported The Chicago Tribune. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Scientists are attempting to create varieties of corn, wheat and other crops that can thrive with little water. For instance, Monsanto claims its first drought-tolerant corn, which it claims will be available in four years, may provide a 10% increase in yields in states like Nebraska and Kansas that tend to get less rainfall than eastern parts of the Corn Belt, reported The New York Times on the Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Some farmers are considering planting less of high-cost crops, such as corn, come spring. Most economists believe the Farm Belt can handle a slowdown, partly because farmer balance sheets are strong, and partly because federal mandates will increase the amount of corn consumed to make ethanol fuel next year. Also, economists believe global demand for U.S. crops will remain robust despite recent economic troubles, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Del Campo Supreme will deploy HarvestMark for trace-back and trace-forward of its tomatoes and peppers. Full Story

NMFS prohibited directed fishing for Atka mackerel for vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery in the Eastern Aleutian District and Bering Sea Subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. Full Notice

NMFS opened directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the Eastern Aleutian District and the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. Full Notice

NMFS prohibited directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch for vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery in the Eastern Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. Full Notice