You might have missed it last year, what with the economy in free-fall, banks collapsing, the oil price shock, The Surge, and the election and Sarah Palin’s glasses and that fierce debate over hockey moms, pigs and lipstick. But big parts of the developing world were embroiled in food riots last spring. Soaring prices for staples — particularly rice — sparked the unrest, which...
Food Industry Archive
May 2009
American wheat production will fall about 20 percent this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports, and global wheat consumption is expected to climb. Sounds like a recipe for higher prices, right? Well it would, except for the fact that global wheat inventories are at their highest levels in eight years, largely because of a big jump in wheat production in China. As a result, wheat...
FDA targets Cheerios health claims — General Mills could be in trouble for claiming its cereal can lower your cholesterol in six weeks. Though the claim has appeared on Cheerios boxes for more than two years, the Food and Drug Administration is only now cracking down, telling the company that if it does not correct these violations, the government may seize every box of Cheerios in the...
A couple of weeks ago a judge in Los Angeles threw out a pair of lawsuits against Dole Food Co. involving Nicaraguan banana workers who claimed they suffered health problems because of the chemical pesticide DBCP (known locally in Nicaragua by the brand name Nemagon). The latest update is that the lawyer representing these workers faces contempt charges and could even go to prison. It turned...
El Pollo Loco is a small chain with only 418 stores, the majority in the southwest. It is a spec of a chicken chain compared with KFC and its more than 11,000 locations world-wide. But recently the smaller chain has done an excellent job of exploiting the giant’s own ad campaigns and getting itself into the limelight. Most recently El Pollo Loco attacked the bigger rival for not honoring...
PepsiAmericas rejects PepsiCo — The bottler turned down PepsiCo’s bid to buy back the shares it doesn’t already own, calling the offer “not acceptable” and “not in the best interest of the company’s shareholders.” This followed a similar move by Pepsi Bottling earlier this week. PepsiCo had offered a combined $6 billion to reacquire remaining shares...
As the economy drags down restaurant traffic, a lot of places have been experimenting with cheap eats — or even giving away food for free. KFC has been prominent in the giveaway movement. It debuted its grilled chicken with a day of free samples, and for Mother’s Day, it’s offering gift coupons to those sporting tattoos related to moms. But for that promotion, the company had...
Things seem to be calming down on the swine flu front — businesses in Mexico City reopened today and the cases in the U.S. are turning out to be less severe than many seasonal flu strains. “If it weren’t for Mexico, this would be a page-15 story,” an infectious disease specialist told a New York Times contributor. But the pork industry is in trouble. The panic is costing the...
Has Starbucks given up on convincing consumers that the $4-latte is a myth? The message of the new ad campaign seems to be ‘okay, so maybe we do sell $4-lattes. But we’re worth it.’ Some sample slogans: “Beware of a cheaper cup of coffee. It comes with a price.” “Starbucks or nothing. Because compromise leaves a really bad aftertaste.” McDonald’s...
Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. has rejected PepsiCo’s proposal to buy back remaining shares in the bottler, calling the offer “grossly inadequate.” Two weeks ago, PepsiCo made a combined $6 billion bid to buy back Pepsi Bottling along with PepsiAmericas — though the offer stipulated that both bottlers had to accept or the deal was off. PepsiCo currently owns 33 percent of...
- 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
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