Have you ever thought that what you see is sometimes different from what you are really seeing?
The famous Arcimboldo's "Vegetables In A Bowl Or The Gardener" painting is a clear example ....
Customer Growth Partners (CGP) said it expected pent-up demand and deleveraged shoppers to defy many forecasts and spend heavily during the holiday season.CGP said it expected sales during November and December to grow by 6.5% as compared to last year - the most rapid such growth since 2004 - and more than twice consensus forecasts calling for growth of 2% to 3.5%. The figures include all retail categories except for autos, gasoline and restaurants and was based on proprietary store and retailer research and U.S. data on personal income, employment, savings rate and retail sales.Source: Supermarket News
Apple, Hershey’s, and surprisingly, Sprite (not Coke or Pepsi) are three of the top brands for youth, according to the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend study, by Harris Interactive.The annual study benchmarks the brands that America's youth prefer and those that have the ability to dominate their industries' youth market share. The study measures brand equity as an outcome of familiarity, quality, and purchase consideration among Americans ages 8 to 24. Equity, emotional connection, and brand advocacy are evaluated.Young Americans are expected to spend $211 billion in 2012, according to Harris Interactive. Companies need to remember that consumers do not magically appear at age 18, said Regina A. Corso, senior vice president for youth and education research at Harris Interactive.In the food category, although 8- to-24-year-olds have varied interests, certain comfort foods, like cookies and candy are timeless. For example: Oreo Cookies and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars are each highest-ranked in their respective categories, and sweet treat and cookie brands receive some of the highest equity scores among those surveyed.Following Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars in the sweet treats category are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey's Kisses. Oreo Cookies is the highest-ranked cookies brand, followed by three Chips Ahoy cookies brands (Chips Ahoy, Chewy Chips Ahoy and Chunky Chips Ahoy.) For the soda brand, Sprite is the highest-ranked brand, followed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.Cheerios is the highest-ranked cereal brand, followed by Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Minute Maid is the highest-ranked fruit juice brand, followed by Tropicana and Florida's Natural Refrigerated Orange Juice. In fruit-flavored drinks, Capri Sun is the highest-ranked brand, followed by KoolAid.
As part of a series of moves aimed at seafood sustainability, Kroger Co. here announced it is committed to sourcing 100% of the top 20 wild-caught species from fisheries that are Marine Stewardship Council-certified, in MSC full assessment, or engaged in a World Wildlife Fund fishery improvement project by the year 2015.Today, 65% of Kroger's top 20 wild-caught fresh and frozen species are sourced from fisheries meeting these standards, the company said.In addition, Kroger has set a goal to source 75% of the top 20 species by volume from MSC-certified fisheries by 2015. At present, approximately 50% of Kroger's top 20 species by volume are sourced from MSC-certified fisheries.Source: Supermarket News
Pleasanton, California-based Safeway Stores, Inc. is this week launching its newest own brand - "Safeway Farms" - which it's debuting on a line of packaged fresh produce items and salads.With the addition of Safeway Farms to its store brand portfolio, Safeway Stores, Inc. now offers three private brands in its fresh produce departments. In addition to the new brand, the others include - O' Organics (for organic packaged produce) and Eating Right, which is the retailer's healthy foods brand.
Source: Fresh & Easy Buzz
In a move that could have a major impact on the recycling industry, California Attorney General Kamala Harris will sue three national companies that make plastic bottles or sell bottled water in California, contending that they illegally claim their bottles are "biodegradable."The lawsuit to be filed Wednesday, seeks to have tens of thousands of bottles of Aquamantra and Balance Water removed from supermarket shelves immediately. It asserts that the bottles used by those brands do not actually decompose naturally and that they contaminate other types of recycled plastic. Further, the suit states that their green-sounding labels could lead to increased littering if consumers believe that tossed bottles will decompose like apple cores or banana peels.
Ahold-owned Stop & Shop in the US has announced it is to expand the SCAN IT! mobile app to a further 42 stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The application is currently available in 350 outlets and allows shoppers to scan and tally their groceries while providing personalized offers to customers based on their location in store and purchase history.
The US Department of Agriculture predicted that food prices will increase 3.5-4.5% this year, up from a September estimate of between 3% and 4% for the year.A USDA statement said: "Although food price inflation was relatively weak for most of 2009 and 2010, cost pressures on wholesale and retail food prices due to higher food commodity and energy prices, along with strengthening global food demand, have pushed inflation projections upward for 2011."The figures are a steep rise on last year. Food prices increased 0.8% between 2009 and 2010, the lowest food inflation rate since 1962.All food increased 0.4% from August to September 2011, increased 0.5% from July to August, and is now 4.7% above the September 2010 level, according to the figures.
House and Senate members yesterday announced the introduction of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011 [H.R. 3236], a comprehensive bill intended for inclusion in the 2012 Farm Bill that highlights federal programs that help support economic opportunities for young and beginning farmers and ranchers.
The bill addresses many of the barriers that new agriculture entrepreneurs face, such as limited access to land and markets, hyper land price inflation, high input costs, and a lack of sufficient support networks.
A U.S. House of Representatives committee has requested documents from the Colorado cantaloupe shipper implicated in the deadly listeria outbreak even as the number of deaths rose to 28, and it wants to hear from the company’s owners.
US-based fast food chain McDonald’s is set to launch McTV, an in store television channel featuring content targeted at the local community, in California.
Programming will be customized and include various segments covering local sports, news and movie previews. Specific segments will include 'Mighty Moms', which will feature local mothers in the area, and 'McDonald's Channel Music News' reporting on bands, tours and new releases. Around eight minutes every hour will be filled with advertising, taking advantage of a reach of up to 20 million people a month. The service will be rolled out to restaurants in the southern and central California area in partnership with ChannelPort Communications, having already tested the concept in cities including Los Angeles and San Diego.
Costco Wholesale Corp.’s fresh produce safety audits are running far ahead of previous years as the warehouse chain scales up efforts to ensure E. coli, salmonella and other pathogens don’t contaminate the food it sells, a company official said during the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit held in Atlanta, GA earlier this month. Last year, Costco received about 4,700 safety audits from its produce suppliers, and “we’ve been tracking way ahead of that number this past year,” said Milinda Dwyer, who oversees Costco’s produce supplier audits.Source: The Packer
How often do you look at the Nutrition Facts label on the side of the box? A new study reveals that people say they look at it a lot more than they actually do.For the study, University of Minnesota researchers recruited 203 participants to gauge what kind of information people looked at before deciding to buy a food product. The task involved a computer-based grocery shopping exercise in which the volunteers were shown 64 items - typical products like cereal, crackers, soup, cookies, ice cream - and asked to indicate whether or not they would buy it.For each item, the screen was divided into three columns: one column contained an image of the food, with a list of ingredients; another section contained the food's price and description; and the third showed the item's Nutrition Facts label. The shopping program was synced with an eye-tracking device that monitored what the shoppers' viewed, tracking 1,000 eye movements per second. After the buying task, the participants were also asked to fill out a questionnaire about their usual grocery shopping and health-related behaviors.Researchers found a big difference between what the eye tracker said people looked at and what the participants self-reported they typically looked at while shopping. Thirty-three percent of participants said they "almost always" looked at a product's calorie content on the Nutrition Facts label; 31% said they almost always looked at total fat content (20% said they looked at trans fats); 24% said they studied products' sugar content and 26% said they paid close attention to serving size.What the eye-tracking data showed: only 9% looked at calorie count for almost all the items in the experiment; 1% looked at each of the other components, including fat, trans fat, sugar and serving size, for almost all of the products.O.K., so they didn't look at nutrition labels as much as they claimed, but more than 70% of the participants viewed at least one component of the average Nutrition Facts label at least some of the time. And more than half viewed each of five label components (servings, calories, total fat, saturated fat and trans fat) on the average label.Surprisingly, while only 26% of people self-reported that they almost always look at Nutrition Facts labels at the grocery store, 37% of them actually looked at at least one component of the label for almost all food items. The researchers suggest that the discrepancy was most likely related to the fact that real-world Nutrition Facts labels appear on the side of the box."In the simulated shopping setting, participants could see Nutrition Facts labels without having to turn, rotate, or otherwise manipulate a food package. In contrast, Nutrition Facts labels on food packages tend to be in locations that cannot be seen by consumers looking at the front of a package (e.g., when viewing a shelf of items in a grocery store)," the authors wrote.Indeed, the study volunteers' attention also varied depending on where the nutrition information appeared on the computer screen: people were most likely to peruse the label if it appeared in the middle column, rather than on one side or the other.What's more, people were much more likely to view the information at the top of the Nutrition Facts panel (calories and fat, for instance) than the components at the bottom (vitamins and minerals). Almost no one looked at every line.The findings add to the evidence that the bewildering array of food labels currently found on grocery store foods isn't doing consumers any good. Creating the most eye-popping nutrition labels is important for helping harried consumers make healthy buying decisions at the store, and the new study suggests: a) putting the most crucial data up at the top and b) putting the label front and center on the box.Everyone from First Lady Michelle Obama to the Institute of Medicine to the Grocery Manufacturers Association is on board with the call for clearer labeling. The question is, what will the Food and Drug Administration decide to do about it?Source: Time Healthland
German discounter Aldi is mulling the location of a new 500,000 sq ft distribution center in South Florida.The project would create 280 construction jobs and 100 permanent positions, prompting Palm Beach County commissioners to think about offering the supermarket chain $1.7 million in tax breaks to build the $43 million facility there.
Walmart China’s doors will reopened to the public today, following the two week closures of its stores during an investigation into allegedly mislabeling regular pork as organic.The ten stores in the Chongqing province were closed by the government authorities on October 10 while inquiries took place.
Signaling an apparent end to a two-year old trade dispute relating to cross border trucking, Mexico has suspended its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. fresh produce and other goods.The government of Mexico on October 21 said it was immediately suspending the retaliatory tariffs totaling $2.4 billion per year after the first Mexican-based carrier was approved on October 14 for access to U.S. roads by the Department of Transportation.
The Food and Drug Administration has narrowed the possible cause of the Listeria outbreak associated with whole cantaloupes to two possible factors: low level sporadic Listeria monocytogenes in the field where the cantaloupe were grown, which may have been introduced into the packing facility, and a truck used to haul culled cantaloupe to a cattle operation that was parked adjacent to the packing facility and may have introduced contamination into the facility.The FDA said the Jensen Farms cantaloupe packing facility’s design allowed water to pool on the floor near equipment and employee walkways and that may have contributed to the spread of the pathogen in the facility. In addition, the agency said the packing facility’s floor was constructed in a way that made it difficult to clean; and the packing equipment was not easily cleaned and sanitized. In addition, washing and drying equipment used for cantaloupe packing previously was used for postharvest handling of another raw agricultural commodity. The FDA did not identify the other commodity.There was no pre-cooling step to remove field heat from the cantaloupes before cold storage, and the FDA said that as the cantaloupes cooled there may have been condensation that promoted the growth of Listeria monocytogenes.The cause of the multi-state Listeria outbreak associated with whole cantaloupes that has caused 123 illnesses and 25 deaths as of October 17 has befuddled the FDA. The agency said its findings regarding the outbreak highlight the importance for companies to employ good agricultural and management practices in their packing facilities as well as in growing fields. The FDA recommended that companies employ good agricultural and management practices for the growing, harvesting, washing, sorting, packing, storage and transporting of fruits and vegetables sold to consumers in an unprocessed or minimally processed raw form.The FDA issued a warning letter to Jensen Farms on October 18 based on environmental and cantaloupe samples collected during the inspection. The agency also said it still considers the investigation to be open.
Michelle Obama praises salad bar donations at White House celebration of HealthierUS Schools ChallengeMichelle Obama has told a gathering of 1,500 participants in the HealthierUS Schools Challenge about the success of the Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative.The first lady told her audience at the White House: "Because you all mobilized and organized, we passed historic legislation here in Washington to improve and provide more nutritious school meals to more of our children. We’re helping install salad bars in more than 800 schools, bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to hundreds of thousands of kids across this country."She singled out Washington, DC's Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School for special acclaim, revealing that students are "eating every last bit of broccoli and spinach and cauliflower in those salad bars".
Chinese exporters face increasing pressure working with America following the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new re-inspection fees that add the an increasingly complex regulation system, according to a consultant.
Benjamin England, CEO and founder of FDAImports and ExportToUsa, said: “As food imports increase and the FDA demands more detailed disclosure and tracking, foreign manufacturers and suppliers will undoubtedly feel the pressure in the coming months from both government agencies and US importers.”
The FDA’s implemented its re-inspection fees on October 1 that feature under the US Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA) introduced in January this year. He explained: “However complex they [regulations] appear to American companies, simply double or triple the potential for confusion for foreign manufacturers and importers. Regulatory compliance is at a level now where you either have to be an expert, know an expert or have uncanny good luck.”
Third-quarter net income for McDonald’s Corp. was up 9%, boosted in part by new menu items in the United States and a tiered pricing system in Europe.For the quarter ended September 30, the company had a net income of $1,507.3 million, equal to $1.45 per share on the common stock, which compared with an income of $1,388.4 million, equal to $1.29 per share, during the same period of the previous year. Total revenue was $7,166.3 million, up 14% from $6,304.9 million during the same quarter of the previous year.For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company had a net income of $4,126.5 million, equal to $3.94 per share, up 11% from $3,704 million, equal to $3.42 per share, during the same period of the previous year. Total revenue for the period was $20,183.3 million, up 13% from $17,860.5 million, during the same period of the previous year.
Subway restaurants in the US will be equipped with MasterCard’s "tap and go" PayPass system, which will allow payment for purchases under $50 to be made through MasterCards, smartphones and other devices with the PayPass technology.
The technology will be installed in over 7,000 subway restaurants in the US by the first quarter 2012, where consumers tap their cards and devices against the payment terminals.
Target joined a growing number of retailers who are making public commitments to sustainably sourced seafood through its partnership with the nonprofit FishWise.Like Safeway, which is also partnering with FishWise, Target has announced a 2015 goal to entirely transition its fresh and frozen offerings to sustainable and traceable varieties.In a release, Target defined sustainable and traceable seafood as seafood that’s “caught or raised in an environmentally sensitive manner and maintain Target’s business needs without jeopardizing the affected ecosystems.”
Seven & I-owned 7-Eleven in the US will return to north-east Florida with the construction of a new store due to start later this month. Another outlet is scheduled to be built beginning in late December and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012. More stores are planned in the area in 2012.7-Eleven Regional Development Director Florida Grant Distel said: "The company wanted to come back to the area because it was a strong market and customer base before the company’s departure. We see many development opportunities and customers that are not being served. It's a commuter city, so convenience is important to area residents."Seven & I-owned 7-Eleven in Canada is planning to expand its network of stores and open 200 new outlets in Ontario between 2012 and 2016, National Post reports. The move will boost its store count by almost 50% in the country. The grocery retailer said Toronto is a business-friendly growth market with a diverse population. 7-Eleven Regional Development Director Ken Barnes said: "What is driving our growth plan is we believe we are incredibly under-stored in a vibrant area of Canada. There are a lot of people here and not nearly enough 7-Elevens."
Their new Arizona plant is a test case for every conceivable kind of sustainable upgrade to manufacturing. As they find out what works, they can move it to other factories, to keep pumping out delicious snacks.Frito-Lay is best known for making tasty chips, but the company has long worked on making its manufacturing plants more energy, waste, and water-efficient. Last year, we named Frito-Lay as one of our Most Innovative Companies for its plan to move all 32 of its plants to zero-waste status. Now the snack giant has completed what is perhaps an even more ambitious project: a 75% net-zero energy plant that the company is calling the "greenest manufacturing facility in the U.S."The just-completed Arizona plant will produce Lays, Tostitos, SunChips, Cheetos, and more and feature a water-recovery system that allows the plant to recycle 75% of its water, a biomass boiler powered by wood waste from local municipalities, and a 5 MW solar photovoltaic system. The plant also has a solar shade parking structure, high-efficiency tractors and trailers, and a solar Stirling engine. Suffice it to say, they've put a lot of tech in there.
Supervalu reported that it earned $60 million, or 28 cents per share, for the fiscal quarter that ended September 10. That compares with a loss of $1.47 billion, or $6.94 per share, a year ago when it was dragged down goodwill, impairment charges and other items. Removing those items, earnings were flat year-over-year at 28 cents per share.Total revenue dropped 3% to $8.43 billion.The results beat the 20 cents per share on revenue of $8.36 billion that analysts surveyed by FactSet expected.Supervalu, which operates its namesake chain, Jewel-Osco, Albertsons and other supermarkets, said its retail food sales fell to $6.6 billion from $6.7 billion, mostly because it exited certain markets.Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 1.8% compared to the prior year, but this measure has improved sequentially each quarter. This metric is a key gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.The company now expects earnings between $1.20 and $1.30 per share for the 2012 fiscal year. Its prior guidance called for earnings in a range of $1.20 to $1.40 per share. The company's outlook assumes revenue of about $36.5 billion, down from a prior forecast of $37 billion. Analysts expect earnings of $1.21 per share on revenue of $36.51 billion.Supervalu expects full-year revenue at stores open at least a year to be down 2-2.5%, excluding fuel.
The Produce Marketing Association delivered continued growth, value and greater connections at the 2011 Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition on October 14-17 in Atlanta. A fresh, new PMA brand promise of “Let’s Grow” and updated logo welcomed attendees and set the tone as future-forward thinking was found around every corner of the Georgia World Congress Center.Over 18,000 industry professionals from more than 65 countries had the opportunity to access the latest innovations, discover new connections and business solutions needed to advance their business in a challenging and sophisticated marketplace.“Fresh Summit is a place to connect, be exposed to new ideas and trends and is where the produce industry’s next year begins,” said John Oxford, president and CEO of L&M Companies and PMA’s Fresh Summit Committee chairman. “This year’s turn out has been everything the Fresh Summit Committee and Exhibit Advisory Committee had hoped it would be.”Among the new ideas showcased was the launch of its online social networking space, PMA Xchange. Attendees who used PMA Xchange experienced first-hand how to access real-time insights, build smarter connections and extend the year-round value of PMA beyond the one week at Fresh Summit. “Xchange is just one example of how PMA is using new tools to help our members grow their businesses,” said Kelly Koczak, vice president of marketing, PMA.In Saturday’s annual State of the Industry address, PMA President and CEO Bryan Silbermann challenged his audience to consider how industry members can grow together. He also challenged them to think differently by embracing Supply Chain 2.0, considering themselves in the fresh food business rather than the commodity business, creating rather than waiting for opportunities and making food safety an integral part of their corporate culture.Other highlights of this year’s convention and exposition include:- U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan’s appearance at Friday’s opening general session. Earlier in the day, Silbermann and PMA chairman Rich Dachman, of Sysco Corp., joined Merrigan and students at Carl Renfroe Middle School in Decatur, Ga. for a lunch highlighting produce and healthy eating.- The 2011-2012 PMA Board of Directors, chaired by Dachman, took office.- More than 1,000 exhibitors and sub-exhibitors showcased their hottest products and services and continued their annual practice of donating all remaining produce, this year to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.- PMA’s annual Impact Awards: Excellence in Packaging recognized five innovators in produce and floral packaging.- Dr. Terril Nell, professor and chairman of University of Florida’s Environmental Horticulture Department, received this year’s Floral Marketer of the Year award.- Enhanced communications throughout the show with PMA TV, the Fresh Summit Daily newspaper and the mobile app. Keynote speakers including former Starbucks CEO Jim Donald and Travelocity.com founder and former CEO Terry Jones as well as educational programming and live panel discussions expanded attendees’ knowledge and leadership.Next year’s Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition will be held Oct. 26-29, in Anaheim, Calif. The 2012 event is already more than 80% booked with exhibitors.
Walmart de Mexico has reported a net income increase of 15% to $376.84 million in the third quarter. Total revenues over this period rose 11% to $7.06 billion.
Walmart de Mexico CEO Scott Rank said: "In Mexico, this quarter we had the highest sales growth of the year both in comparable and total stores and in Central America the third quarter represented a quarter of investment and business transformation, which will allow us to establish a strong foundation for sustained growth." Walmex currently operates 2,532 outlets with 258 store openings year-to-date.Source: Planet Retail
The United Fresh Produce Association has backed the passage of three free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, which it has said will have a “direct impact on key regions in the fruit and vegetable industry”.According to the association, the South Korean trade agreement allows for an immediate elimination of tariffs on US-grown asparagus and certain types of tomatoes, the Panama agreement will lead to the elimination of tariffs on almost all fruit products, and the Colombian agreement will do away with most barriers to trade for US products."This key development in trade policy represents a win for agriculture across the board with up to US$2.5bn in new agricultural exports and support for up to 22,500 jobs involved," noted United Fresh senior vice-president Robert Guenther. "Increasing opportunities for those who grow and ship fresh produce is the foundation for the future success of the industry.
Tariffs on some U.S. produce going to Mexico are expected to disappear soon, ending a trade dispute that hinged on a cross-border trucking program.One Mexican carrier - Transportes Olympics - was issued long-haul operating authority in the U.S. on October 14, according to a notice in the Federal Register. That step should mean Mexico will soon lift 10% retaliatory tariffs in place against U.S. apples, cherries, grapes, oranges, onions and other commodities.John Keeling, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Potato Council, said October 13 he was told Mexican trucks could start operating in the U.S. within days.Source: The Packer
Sustainability can be a hard concept to define and implementing sustainable practices can even seem risky, but in the end it just makes good business sense.That was the message October 15 at “By the Numbers: The ROI of Sustainability,” a workshop at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit 2011.Read more here
The American grocer aims is to convert its $30 million annual bulk-candy business away from bins.The move should improve food safety and reduce an estimated 10% “shrink,” or loss, on bulk-food items, said Terry Shamblin, Meijer’s director of manufacturing.
Income for the Coca-Cola Co. was up 8% during the third quarter on higher volume share and prices.For the quarter ended September 30, the company had income of $2,221 million, up 8% from $2,055 million during the same quarter of the previous year. Net operating revenue for the quarter was $12,248 million, up 45% from $8,426 million during the same quarter of the previous year.For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company had income of $6,918 million, up 15% from $6,038 million, during the same period of the previous year. Net operating revenue for the period was $35,502 million, up 44% from $24,625 million during the same period of the previous year.
The total number of reported cantaloupe related listeria deaths has risen, making the foodborne outbreak the worst in the US in the last decade.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced a further six deaths in connection with listeria infected Jensen Farms Rocky Ford brand cantaloupes, taking the total to 23.An additional 116 people across 25 states have become infected as a result of the four outbreak-associated strains of Listeria monocytogenes.The number of deaths linked to listeria infected cantaloupes makes this foodborne outbreak the worst since 1998, and the third worst since US food contamination records began.
U.S. based PakSense, Inc., an innovator in sensory solutions for packaging, announced the launch of the XpressPDF temperature monitoring label. XpressPDF Labels monitor time and temperature of perishable items such as food during distribution and storage. About the size of a sugar packet, labels are flat and feature an integrated USB connection point which can be plugged directly into the USB port of a computer. Once connected, the label automatically generates a PDF data file containing complete time and temperature history including a graph and summary statistics.XpressPDF Labels eliminate the need for reading devices and proprietary download software.XpressPDF Labels are optimal for use in situations that require fully independent operation including exports, distribution center to retail location, and any “last mile” distribution applications. The small, flat, waterproof form factor of the label enables cold chain monitoring in virtually any packaging configuration, including at the pallet, carton, and individual item level. Because of its small size, packaging modifications are not required to utilize the XpressPDF Label.
About half of all foreign farms supplying produce to the U.S. and inspected by the Food and Drug Administration in recent years have had a written food safety plan, and nearly all had worker hygiene training in place. “We have an emerging interest in foreign farm inspections and I think the trend is going to increase,” said Crystal McKenna, produce safety specialist at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.FDA conducted inspections of foreign farms producing 22 different commodities, including asparagus, bananas, bell peppers, cantaloupes, green onions, mangoes, tomatoes, watermelon and other commodities.“The good news is that 19 out of 39 had a written food safety plan,” McKenna said. “That shows people are thinking about good agricultural practices.”However, only one out of 39 had a policy relating to flooding in place, she said.However, in our opinion, FDA has to inform also about the domestic farm inspections as well.
According to Fresh & Easy Buzz, Walmart will close its four small-format "Marketside by Walmart" fresh food and grocery markets in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona on October 21.Fresh & Easy Buzz reports that Walmart representatives met with the employees of the four stores, located in the Phoenix metro-region cities of Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Tempe informing the workers that the four stores opened on October 4, 2008 will be closed October 21, and that "Marketside by Walmart" will cease to exist as a format for the retailer.Walmart currently has no plans to open stores in the soon to be vacant "marketside by Walmart" locations under either its Walmart Market/Walmart Neighborhood Market smaller-to-medium format chain or its new Walmart Express small-format, according to Fresh & Easy Buzz sources.
The US House of Representatives and Senate on Wednesday approved a long-awaited free trade pact with Korea that’s expected to deliver significant benefits for the country’s fresh produce exports.The House passed the so-called ‘KORUS FTA’ (South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement) on a vote of 278-151, a sizeable margin, and it swiftly gained the Senate seal of approval later on Wednesday evening.How soon the deal will take effect is a moot point, as the FTA must now pass Korean parliament, which does not look like being a smooth process. Some Korean officials believe this could happen in time for the agreement to take effect as early as January, but that appears to be an optimistic assessment.
US discounter 99¢ Only Stores has announced second quarter financials ended October 1, 2011, with total sales of $363 million, an increase of 8.8% over the previous year. Total retail sales increased 9% to $352.2 million, and comparable store sales increased 6.7%.
US discounter 99¢ Only Stores has announced that it will be acquired by affiliates of Ares Management LLC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for approximately $1.6 billion.
The Gold/Schiffer family will continue to hold a significant stake in the company and will remain in current leadership roles within the company.
….but the amount they are willing to pay is highly dependent on the duration and severity of the illness prevented, as well as cost, according to new research released by researcher of the Harvard University.The researchers’ conclusions were based on a survey of 2,858 adults selected randomly from the US population, supported by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture.The Harvard University health economists suggested that according to economic theory, willingness to pay (WTP) as a way to reduce the risk of foodborne illness should be proportional to the corresponding gain in quality adjusted life years (QALYs). However, they found that this was not necessarily the case.They asked consumers about their willingness to pay more for chicken, ground beef and deli meats if they had a verified reduced risk of foodborne illness, with varied duration and severity of potential illness, from one day to seven days, and with symptoms ranging from mild stomach aches to hospitalization.According to the survey, willingness to pay is estimated to be more sensitive to severity of the illness than to duration.They concluded that depending on the duration and severity of the illness, collectively respondents were willing to pay between $4,500 and $6,500 for each case of illness they would avoid. However, although they were willing to pay a premium to avoid a mild illness, they would not be willing to pay a proportionately higher amount to avoid a more severe illness.The researchers said that their conclusions suggest that WTP and QALYs, although both used in risk analyses, are not equal measurements.
Safeway Inc reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' low expectations, but shares fell 2.8% as higher food prices showed signs of denting demand at the second-largest US supermarket company.Inflation hit 4% during Safeway's third quarter and sales volume declines accelerated more than in the previous period, Chief Executive Steve Burd said on a conference call with analysts.Safeway's net income for the third quarter ended September 10 rose 6% to $130.2 million.Safeway's revenue rose a bit more than 7% to $10.06 billion, primarily because of higher fuel sales, and beat analysts' estimates of $9.86 billion.Gross profit fell 114 basis points to 27% of sales. But gross margin was flat, excluding an 88 basis-point hit from fuel sales and a 26 basis-point charge from reporting gift card commissions.
Reggie Griffin, corporate vice-president of produce and floral merchandising and procurement for US retailer Kroger, has announced that he will retire on October 29 this year, after 42-year career."The Kroger Co. and the produce industry have been very rewarding to me and I will miss the daily interaction," he wrote in an email to industry colleagues.
Walmart U.S. delivers three consecutive months of positive same store sales.FY12 capital expenditures, including acquisition-related expenditures, will range from $13 to $14 billion.FY13 capital expenditures are expected to be flat with updated FY12 guidance.New stores will add between 45 and 49 million square feet worldwide next fiscal year.Walmart plans to grow next year's sales by 5 to 7%.Walmart will leverage operating expenses for the current fiscal year and will reduce operating expenses as a percentage of sales by more than 100 basis points over the next five years.International investment continues to prioritize growth of emerging markets.In addition, speaking at the company's annual meeting for the investment community, Bill Simon, president and chief executive officer for U.S. stores, said the company plans to open new stores in areas in which it already has medium to high market-shares, including Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Baton Rouge and Dallas-Fort Worth."The choice is to cannibalize ourselves or get eaten up by someone else, and we've determined we need to build a competitive number of stores in some of our strong markets to retain our share," Simon said.Walmart said it plans to open approximately 120 large-format stores in fiscal 2012 and 130 to 135 in 2013 compared with 153 this year; between 25 and 30 medium and small format stores next year and 80 to 100 more in 2013, compared with one this year; and 8 to 10 Sam's Clubs next year and 10 to 15 more in 2013 compared with nine this year.
US-based Kroger has updated its coupon policy for stores in its Cincinnati and Dayton division, an area which covers 109 outlets.
Customers will now be restricted to a five item limit when presenting manufacturers’ coupons at the checkout. In addition, shoppers are now limited to one manufacturer coupon, paper or digital, per item purchased, preventing the "stacking" of two coupons on the same product. The new rules have been implemented to prevent single shoppers from removing all stock of certain items when they are on a coupon-related promotion.Source: Planet Retail
According to a new survey conducted by SC Johnson and GfK Roper Consulting, Americans are two times more likely to sort their garbage from trash to recyclable materials than they were in 1990, when the SC Johnson first conducted its "Green Gauge" survey. At the same time, 75% of Americans said they feel good when they take these steps to help the environment.Among the factors that influence people to change their behaviors, financial incentives and penalties led the list, with both ranking at 49%, ahead of family, friends and government. At the bottom of the list: celebrities, who only garnered 7%.
The produce giant announced the deal and said SunnyRidge's blueberry and blackberry operations are a "strategic complement" to its existing fresh and frozen berry operations.David DeLorenzo, president and CEO of Dole Food Co said: "Blueberries and blackberries are some of the fastest growing items in the produce category and also amongst the most nutritious fruits. The SunnyRidge acquisition lets us advance our commitment to providing the consumer with an ever growing array of healthful, nutritious fruits and vegetables."Dole, which markets a growing line of packaged and frozen fruit, posted net revenues of $6.9 billion in 2010.SunnyRidge Farm sources and sells blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. It has operating centers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Michigan, British Columbia, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
An ominous macroeconomic outlook including a threat of a second recession should result in holiday retail sales growing at less than half the rate they grew in 2010, an economist for Kantar Retail here said in a web event Tuesday.Grocery stores and drug stores could see a percentage gain as compared to 2010, but virtually all of the growth will be due to price inflation, Frank Badillo, senior economist for Kantar, said. Overall retail sales are projected to grow by 2.8% this year, down from 5.6% growth last year, Kantar said.Grocery and drug retailers should see their sales grown by 3.9%, up from 3.1% growth a year ago that was not inflation-aided.Source: Supermarket News
Fossil-fuel-based PET's days are numbered in the beverage market if you listen to two of the sector's biggest players, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, both of which launched renewably sourced polyester initiatives that they say will become the material of choice for bottles.In presentations that bookended the two-day Biopolymers Symposium organized by Intertech Pira, Coca-Cola's Mikell Schultheis and PepsiCo's Edward Socci laid out their respective companies forays into renewably sourced polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and how those efforts will accelerate in coming years.
New research indicates that Fairtrade is the most widely recognized ethical label globally, said the organization behind the standard.Nearly six in ten shoppers (57%) across the 24 markets surveyed said they have seen the Fairtrade certification mark.And recognition has increased by six points to 65% in the 15 main tracking countries since the study was first conducted in 2008, notes Fairtrade International, which added that over 80% of consumers recognize the label in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria and Finland.Consumers globally spent €4.36bn on Fairtrade products in 2010, up by 28%, reports the organization.
Some Walmart stores in the southwest city of Chongqing will close temporarily following accusations they sold ordinary pork as organic pork."We have agreed to temporarily close some stores in Chongqing for 15 days. We believe this will allow us to complete comprehensive actions to upgrade the standards in these Chongqing stores," Walmart said in a statement.Chongqing's municipal government will shut 10 stores and fine the stores 2.69 million Yuan ($421,200), the official Xinhua news agency said late on Sunday.The 10 Walmart stores and two other stores acquired by Walmart, are accused of selling 63,547 kilograms of falsely labeled pork over the last two years, Xinhua reported, quoting Huang Bo, director of Chongqing's Industry and Commerce body.
Fresh & Easy stores in California have been banned from selling alcohol via self-service tills.California state governor Jerry Brown has signed Assembly Bill 183 banning alcohol sales through self-serve checkout machines in the state.The move could spell further trouble for Tesco's American arm, which relies on self-service tills more than any local competitor.
According to a survey released by Supermarket News, food retailers and wholesalers in the US are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming holiday shopping season, citing some benefits to the top line from higher prices.Operators noted that inflationary price increases might be difficult to capitalize on, however, as consumers remain under pressure in the lackluster economy, and competition, while rational, is still fearful about losing traffic.Read more here: http://supermarketnews.com/retail_financial/ar/cloudy_forecast_1010/index.html
Consulting firm Deloitte said it expects “small gains” in 2011 holiday-season sales as retailers face tough comparisons with a year ago and a frugal consumer under ongoing economic pressure.“As many holiday shoppers will be researching on-line and on their smartphones both before and during their trips to the store, retailers need to be sure their digital strategy is both flexible and focuses on a personalized experience this season.”The company said it projects sales increases of 2.5% to 3% for the months of November through January at retail stores, excluding auto sales and gasoline. That compares with growth of 5.9% during that period a year ago.Source: Supermarket News
Americans talk a good game when it comes to eating more healthy food, but at the end of the day they still buy a burger with fries. While 47% of Americans say they'd like restaurants to offer healthier items like salads and baked potatoes, only 23% tend to order those foods, according to a survey by food research firm Technomic.In an effort to help America slim down the government has step in and today, many restaurants offer a healthy menu. But Americans are still making poor choices when they order their meals.In a country where more than two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese, food choices are often made on impulse, not intellect.It's also why only 11% of parents ordered apple slices as an alternative to fries in McDonald's Happy Meals.
US discount chain 99 Cents Only Stores has received a takeover bid from private equity firm Ares Capital Management that trumps previous offers, the New York Post reports. An offer of approximately $1.55 billion by Ares has put rival bidder Leonard Green & Partners out of the running. A source close to the matter said: “Ares feels really good about the situation”. In March, 99 Cents Only received a buyout proposal of $1.3 billion from Leonard Green, a figure it deemed too low. All parties declined to provide an official statement.Source: Planet Retail
Publix Super Markets, Google and UPS have taken the top spots in the Corporate Social Responsibility Index, a ranking of the 50 companies with the best corporate citizenship reputations among the US public.The index revealed an overall drop in ratings of companies’ social responsibility, suggesting that the public this year is more demanding of companies. Scores dropped across the board, and this year’s top score of 80.59 (out of 100) compares to 82.67 in 2010.Among the 286 companies measured in the 2011 CSR Index, 10 rated scores of 75 or higher, placing them in the “excellent” category, and another 57 scored 70 or more, to reach the “strong” category.
Customer Growth Partners (CGP) said it expected pent-up demand and deleveraged shoppers to defy many forecasts and spend heavily during the holiday season.
