Food Industry Archive

Will foreigners feel happier about buying Coca-Cola or going to McDonalds now that Barack Obama has been elected? According to a recent Euromonitor report, yes. “Likeability” ratings for American companies have suffered overseas lately, but “Barack Obama’s election has built up a groundswell of goodwill across the globe that might see Brand America topping the polls as...

More...

Another example of why all email forwards should be stamped out: A particularly loonie one that is circulating now claims that “the first three digits” of a product’s barcode always indicate the product’s country of origin. According to GS1, a nonprofit organization that works to create uniform standards (like barcodes) for supply chains, the email could mislead...

More...

Back in March, Dr. Pepper offered a free drink to every American if rock band Guns N’ Roses released its new album, Chinese Democracy, by the end of the year. The general consensus among music fans was that it was a risk-free offer for Dr. Pepper, as GNR had been working on the album since 1994 and had already missed several promised release dates. But GNR (which said it played no part in...

More...

U.S. infant formula contains melamine — Traces of melamine have turned up in three brands of infant formula in the U.S., but the FDA insists there is no reason to be concerned. The chemical, used to trick tests into showing higher protein levels for food products, has already made thousands of babies sick in China and killed at least three. [Source: AP] No More Happy Hour in UK? —...

More...

Some academic nutritionists (or nutritionist-wannabes) are taking lots of money from food companies, a fact that makes it hard to know when nutrition science is serving the common good and when it is simply serving the public-relations needs of the food industry. A report by Tom Avril in the Philadelphia Inquirer notes that the “seductive influence of corporate money on academia has...

More...

A USDA panel has approved the first ever standards for organic fish, but environmentalists and consumer activists are not happy with the results. The problem with fish is that many of them, such as salmon, eat other fish. Even if they’re organically raised in every other way but eat wild fish, there’s no guarantee that the fish they eat are free of mercury and PCBs. The new...

More...

The weakening economy is hitting restaurants hard as people cut costs by eating in. But companies that make condiments, soups, and other grocery items are seeing their sales rise. Heinz and Smucker’s both posted big jumps in earnings on Friday. It wasn’t all from rising sales — their own price hikes, followed by a drop in corn and oil prices, were a factor, as were smart...

More...

Duke Named Wal-Mart Chief In a surprise move, Wal-Mart announced that Michael Duke, head of the international division, will replace Lee Scott as CEO of the world’s largest retailer and the world’s largest grocer. BusinessWeek described the move as a “victory lap” for Scott, in part because of the odd timing. It’s unusual for any retailer to make such a move on the...

More...

The Organic Trade Association says the massive marketing campaign it announced this week has been in the works for years and is not a direct result of the current economic crisis. But Marcia Mogelonsky, who authored a recent Mintel report saying growth in the organic industry has slowed, isn’t buying it. “Yeah, it was on their radar screen but they didn’t feel the urge to do...

More...

Archway and Mother’s Cake and Cookie Company may be resurrected next month if a $30 million bid on the company’s assets from Lance, a North Carolina snack company, is accepted. The company abruptly shut down last month and declared bankruptcy. Archway’s brands include Circus Animal Cookies, Salerno Butter Cookies and Archway Oatmeal Cookies. Other bidders could still make...

More...