Wal-Mart offers $54 million in wage suit — The retail giant said it will pay up to $54.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in Minnesota over break times and alleged wage violations. The settlement is still subject to court approval. At $1000 per violation, the company could have owed more than $2 billion in fines. [Source: Reuters] Banana prices up — Chiquita Brands said the...
Food Industry Archive
December 2008
Anheuser Busch-InBev Cuts 1,400 U.S. Jobs — The world’s largest brewer announced a restructuring that will reduce its workforce by 2,000. Most of the U.S. cuts come at the company’s corporate headquarters. [Source: Bloomberg News] Whole Foods Sues FTC — The premium grocer says the agency has repeatedly erred in its probe of Whole Foods‘ merger with Wild Oats. The...
The World Health Organization has tossed its own melamine opinion into the ring. You really shouldn’t have melamine at all, it says — but if you have to have melamine, don’t have more than 0.2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. It gets harder and harder to believe that anyone knows what they’re talking about. The EU’s daily limit is 0.5 mg per kg of...
New BizDev Veep at Campbell Campbell Soup has named Keith Olscamp as vice president of business development and industry relations. He’ll report to Archbold van Beuren, president of global sales. Olscamp has been with Campbell since 1979, most recently as vice president of retail and broker operations. He succeeds Richard Smith, who will retire next year. [Source: Campbell Soup]...
China to Issue Food-Additives Blacklist — In the wake of the melamine scandal, China says it will identify banned additives. The government also said it would step up product testing. [Source: AP] Distiller Brown-Forman’s Profits Up — The maker of Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort and Finlandia saw its earnings beat expectations in its second quarter. Booze sales generally hold...
Bottled water hasn’t been doing so well lately. Sales are still climbing, but it’s not the double-digit growth the industry saw at its peak. However, as much as groups like Food & Water Watch would love to attribute this to “consumers wising up” about the wastefulness of using so many plastic bottles, the issue is clearly not that simple. Soft drink sales are also...
Burger King “Whopper Virgin” campaign offends — Bloggers and activists have attacked a new Burger King ad campaign as exploitative. The campaign, set to air in the U.S. next week, shows people in remote areas tasting fast food hamburgers for the first time, such as Hmong tribesmen in Thailand or farmers in Transylvania. [Source: guardian.co.uk] Pepsi appoints global chief...
As of this week, Nestle’s pledge is official: the company will stop advertising its sugary products to children under 12 and instead focus on selling them healthier things like juice and low-fat chocolate milk. It will also cut advertising completely to kids under six. Nestle is the 15th company approved for the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, which the Council of...
Del Monte’s Net Nearly Doubles — The company reported that it’s second-quarter profits nearly doubled and it revised its forecast upward for the coming year. The earnings boost came from the sale of Starkist and from higher prices. [Source: AP] Pilgrim’s Pride Gets OK on Bankruptcy Financing — The largest U.S. chicken producer, which declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
Consumer Reports looked at a wide range of foods and discovered than many of them contain a surprising amount of salt. For instance, Twizzlers. The Black Licorice Twists variety contains 200 milligrams per four-piece serving. Kellogg’s Raisin Bran cereal contains 350 milligrams per cup, while Post’s version of the cereal contains 350. The chocolate variety of Jell-O Instant Pudding...
- QuikTrip Campaign Gets Honest and Scoffs at Obesity Concerns
- No Action from New Cadbury Contestants, But Plenty of Talk
- Anticlimactic End to High Profile Agriprocessors Immigration Raid
- Industry Should Find Alternatives to BPA
- KFC Winning Chicken War Over El Pollo Loco
- Hershey and Ferrero's Cadbury Interest Unlikely to Push Up Kraft Bid
- FDA Accused of Caving to Industry in Oyster Row
- Agriprocessors Verdict, Pending Immigration Charges, and a Bizarre Response
- Burger King Goes Too Far in Price War
- More on Starbucks Barista Discontent over Pushing Via
- Food Companies Cut Down on Ingredients, If Not Sugar or Fat
- Assault on Salt Inspires New Products and Strategies
- Dairy Industry Attacks Sodas to Defend Chocolate Milk
- Dean Foods Accused of Silk Soy Milk 'Bait and Switch'
- Kraft Battle for Cadbury Takeover Just Beginning
- Glenn Beck More Popular Than Ever Despite Boycott
- Meat Industry: Meatless Monday Threatens Our Way of Life
- Food, Soda and Candy Bar Companies Unite to Fight Obesity
- Despite Industry Efforts, 'H1N1' Will Never Replace 'Swine Flu'
- New York City Attacks Sugary Soft Drinks with Ad Campaign
- Industry Should Find Alternatives to BPA
- New 90 Calorie Coke Can is Good Business Strategy, If Nothing Else
- No Industry Enthusiasm for PETA's Vegan Proposal
Subscribe to Food blog comments RSS 
- Is Starbucks Good or Bad for Independent Coffee Shops?
- 'Smart Choices' Label Dumbs Down Nutrition
- Big Brands Warn of Sugar Crisis
- Wal-Mart Regrets Exec's Comments on Health Care for Immigrants
- Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic
- Meat Industry: Meatless Monday Threatens Our Way of Life
- New Strategy Against Bottled Water: Satire
- Is John Mackey Clueless About Whole Foods' Customer Base?
Industry Transcripts by Seeking Alpha
- H. J. Heinz Company F2Q10 (Qtr End 10/28/09) Earnings Call Transcript
- Hormel Foods Corporation F4Q09 (Qtr End 25/10/09) Earnings Call Transcript
- Campbell Soup Company F1Q10 (Qtr End 11/01/09) Earnings Call Transcript
- Tyson Foods, Inc. F4Q09 (Qtr End 10/03/09) Earnings Call Transcript
- The J.M. Smucker Company F2Q10 (Qtr End 10/31/09) Earnings Call Transcript
Brought to you by CBS MoneyWatch.com
- Best- and Worst-Paid College Degrees
- 6 Things You Should Never Do on Twitter or Facebook
- How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
- 6 Big Myths about Gas Mileage
Archives
Recommended Sources
About Food Industry
BNET Food provides daily industry trends and news coverage with insights for managers and executives, focusing on the major companies in the food and beverage sector, from manufacturers to retailers. In addition to detailed company profiles, we bring you industry analysis on new alliances and partnerships, food products, mergers and acquisitions, contamination events, health risks, investments, and a host of other important business issues.