Food Industry Archive

Wacky congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul has introduced legislation to knock down federal laws restricting sales of raw milk. Which, in a perfect world, would be great. All else being equal, raw milk is good stuff. Though it is an acquired taste for many, once that taste is acquired, raw milk tastes a lot better than the pasteurized stuff. It may help children – and even...

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Even as they cut back on spending, consumers still care about sustainability, a pair of new studies suggest. In an Opinion Research Corporation survey, 4 out of 5 people said they were still buying green products or services. Unfortunately for the food companies, customers are also increasingly skeptical. A BrandSpark International survey found that 75 percent believe companies are...

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Chicago and Seattle will be the first test markets for Starbucks‘ new Via instant coffee. The company said today that it plans to start test-marketing its instant coffee in those cities on March 3, with the goal of rolling them out nationwide in the fall. CEO Howard Schultz went on CNBC this afternoon to pump the instant coffee strategy. “It’s within our core business, which...

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Wal-Mart Names New Top Lawyer Jeff Gearhart has been promoted to executive vice president and general counsel at Wal-Mart. But where, Law.com’s David Hechler wanted to know, does that leave the man Gearhart is replacing as the head lawyer of the world’s largest grocer? Tom Mars was promoted as well, to a new position of chief administration officer, U.S. But Wal-Mart has been vague...

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Pot smokers boycott Kellogg Marijuana smokers are boycotting Kellogg over its decision not to renew its contract with Michael Phelps after a photo surfaced of the Olympic swimmer smoking marijuana. The head of the Marijuana Policy Project called the move “hypocritical and disgusting.” And as wacky as this story sounds on the surface, the guy made a pretty good point:...

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First breakfast value meals, and now this: Starbucks has sent out a memo to employees confirming that it’s poised to launch a new line of instant coffee. The memo, which The Seattle Times got a copy of, was sent out Thursday, after Advertising Age and The Wall Street Journal broke the news about the company’s latest effort to regain its lost luster. Starbucks executives told...

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General Mills announced Monday that all Yoplait yogurt products will be entirely free of artificial bovine growth hormones (rBGH or rBST) by August, 2009. GM is not the first company to go this route — to name just a few others, Starbucks, Chipotle and even Wal-Mart’s Great Value brand have all eliminated dairy products produced with artificial hormones. But General Mills was very...

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Chicago’s Mr. Beef is in trouble, with its lender threatening foreclosure. Mr. Beef is perhaps the best-known purveyor of Italian beef sandwiches (though that designation might just as easily be applied to the much-better Al’s Beef). Italian beef sandwiches are a staple of the Chicago diet, and they should be much better known than, say, Philly cheesesteaks, to which they are far...

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PCA Owner Refuses to Testify — Stewart Parnell, owner of Peanut Corporation of America, repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination Wednesday at a House subcommittee hearing about the recent widespread salmonella outbreak in peanut products. Emails had surfaced suggesting that Parnell instructed his workers to ship products he knew were contaminated,...

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Oops. I previously said that Peanut Corporation of America might have found salmonella in some of its products but simply re-tested them until it managed to get a negative result. I apologize if I portrayed the company unfairly. In fact, it was worse. The Food and Drug Administration is now saying there’s evidence PCA didn’t even wait for the negative test results before shipping...

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