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01/06/2009
California dairy groups are discussing the possibility of a California federal market order for milk. The groups suggest officials who run the state order keep discounting California Class 1 milk to a point where it makes no economic sense to bring milk into the state, reported California Farm Bureau.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services is advising the public that it prepared evaluations of the animal health status of Germany and Poland relative to the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza. These evaluations are available to the public for review and comment.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
The International Rice Research Institute launched The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia, which aims to boost crop yields within 10 years. The project seeks to produce an additional five million tons of grain annually, and will bring together public- and private-sector organizations to enable sustainable cereal production in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, where declining yields have been observed.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Mexico is the largest market for U.S. rice both in volume and value, noted FAS. With a population of over 106 million people and relatively low per capita consumption, the Mexican market has substantial potential for growth.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
The Mexican market is becoming more challenging for U.S. suppliers of dried fruit due to stiff competition from other countries, according to FAS. The most popular dried fruits imported from the U.S. are raisins, prunes, apples, pears, figs and peaches. FAS Report
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Early results indicate that New Mexico's chile yield is down 20% to 30%, claims Stephanie Walker, extension vegetable specialist and chile breeding program researcher at New Mexico State University. A combination of too much rain, wind, hail, insects and destructive animals made it tough for farmers. For the third straight year, excess moisture led to the spread of bacterial leaf spot, which causes the plant to lose leaves and not produce peppers, reported The Associated Press.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Tyson Foods is shifting its Harrisonburg, VA plant's focus from whole chickens to cut-up chickens due to high costs and increasingly competitive markets in the meat and poultry industries, reported DailyPress.com.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Olam International is now the world's top supplier of cashews and sesame seeds, and one of the three largest of peanuts, rice, cocoa, Robusta coffee and cotton. Olam sources directly from small agricultural cooperatives or village-level agents who buy directly from farmers. The company runs its own processing plants, and stores, ships and distributes everything from nuts to coffee directly to customers. Olam made its $111 million net last year, up 54%, mostly from processing as well as grading and getting organic or fair-trade certification from one of the handful of global bodies that govern the process, according to Forbes.com.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
USDA amended regulations for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children by adding three requirements mandated by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Constar International Inc. was granted approval of its operational "first day" motions by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, receiving interim Bankruptcy Court approval of its $75 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. Constar will use the interim DIP financing and cash generated from its operations to continue to pay vendors and to provide operational and financial stability as it proceeds with its restructuring under Chapter 11.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
The U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a California federal district court decision dismissing legal action against Nestle's Gerber Products Company for potentially deceptive marketing of jelly-type sweets for toddlers. The court stated that the packaging of its Graduates Fruit Juice Snacks could deceive consumers as the product does not contain any juice from the fruits depicted on the label, reported Confectionary News.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
International recalls and outbreaks due to the expanding globalization of the food supply and intentional adulterations of food for profit are atop the list of food safety challenges of 2009, according to Bill Marler, food safety advocate and managing partner of foodborne illness law firm Marler Clark. Other challenges include outbreaks linked to local food and/or farmer's markets, and non-O157 E.Coli illnesses and outbreaks.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
New Zealand's HortResearch and Crop & Food Research merged. The combination will be known as the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Frutarom Industries Ltd. signed an agreement to acquire the assets and business of Oxford Chemicals Ltd., a producer and marketer of specialty ingredients for the flavor and fragrance industry, for a consideration of approximately $12 million.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
DSM and S Black are extending their distribution arrangement in the UK to cover beverage enzymes, which are now being offered to targeted customers or alongside other ingredients in S Black's beverage portfolio, reported Beverage Daily.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
The food processing and catering industries in Poland are increasingly interested in importing processed fruits and vegetables and baking ingredients such as baking mixes and fats, according to FAS. There are over 33,000 food processing companies in Poland and the number grows each year. Meanwhile, consumers have larger disposable incomes and are interested in quality products, so food manufacturing continues to register a boom.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Foodservice marketing group Golbon added three members, Calivan Distributing, Freshko Foodservice, Inc. and Lamm Food Service, reported MyIDAccess.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Anheuser-Busch is planning to build restaurants or other food-related venues at its hospitality centers, according to Fred Jacobs, vice president of communications for Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, reported USA Today.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
PepsiCo published its fourth annual sustainable development report, Our Sustainability Journey, which addresses human, environmental and talent sustainability.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
ELGIN, Ill. & ATLANTA - The Middleby Corporation and TurboChef Technologies, Inc. today announced that Middleby has completed its acquisition of TurboChef for $3.67 in cash and 0.0486 shares of Middleby common stock for each outstanding share of TurboChef common stock in accordance with the terms of an agreement and plan of merger entered into August 12, 2008 and amended November 21, 2008. The acquisition closed on January 5, 2009. Middleby financed the transaction under its senior revolving credit facility. TurboChef is a leader in speed-cook technology, one of the fastest growing segments of the commercial foodservice equipment market. TurboChef’s user-friendly speed cook ovens employ proprietary combinations of heating technologies to cook a variety of food products at speeds faster than that of conventional heating methods. Having created the speed cooking category, TurboChef is uniquely positioned to capture the growing demand in this segment. The addition of TurboChef’s line of products will complement Middleby’s existing industry leading brands and portfolio of innovative technologies, and further strengthen Middleby’s position as a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Full Motion Beverage, Inc. signed a letter of intent with Mojito Brands Inc., a New York developer and manufacturer of ready-to-drink coffee called Mojava. "We are not only changing our name to Full Motion Beverage, but more importantly changing the company's strategic focus," stated Josh Eikov, the company's chairman and president. "We are focusing on a dual strategy of the operation and management of non-alcohol based beverage brands and the development, acquisition and marketing of additional brands under our corporate umbrella," added Mr. Eikov.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Sara Lee North American Fresh Bakery is launching new food nutrition labels. The nutrition information will appear on all of its bread, bun and bagel products beginning in January with their Soft & Smooth bread line.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Tesco Plc is cutting prices by $146 million. The reductions will take effect in January and cover more than 3,000 items, according to Bloomberg.com.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
NutriSystem, Inc. partnered with Costco Wholesale, allowing consumers to purchase the NutriSystem program in all 384 continental U.S. Costco stores through its existing Customer Gift Card Acquisition program. Costco members who purchase the plan will receive 35 days worth of food from the NutriSystem favorites menu, free shipping and a meal planner at the price of $259.99 for women and $284.99 for men.
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IFDA Daily Update
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01/06/2009
Starbucks is launching its first local coffee brand in China by sourcing coffee beans from Yunnan province, according to China.org. However, the company is still in discussions with the province and could not report when the brand will be available.
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IFDA Daily Update
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