Food Industry Archive

The rumors are flying. Hershey (HSY) is launching a solo bid for Cadbury (CBY). Hershey is launching a joint bid for Cadbury with Ferrero. Cadbury is eager for Hershey’s bid. Cadbury will reject Hershey’s bid. Nestle will join Hershey and Ferrero to bid on Cadbury. Nestle will go it alone. And most of this coming from that most popular of commentators, anonymous “sources...

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The May, 2008 immigration raids of an Agriprocessors kosher meat plant put Postville, Iowa on the map. The raid revealed nearly 400 undocumented immigrants working at the plant and gained national media attention. But now all of the immigration charges have been dropped against former manager Sholom Rubashkin, putting an abrupt and, to many, unsatisfying end to the drama. Foes of illegal...

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It’s time to move away from Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical commonly used in plastic containers and — as Consumer Reports recently highlighted — canned food containers as well. The latest buzz on BPA is that high levels of exposure were shown to cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men. The food industry, along with others who rely on BPA in their packaging,...

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It looks like KFC is winning its highly publicized “chicken war” with more recent upstart El Pollo Loco, according to the latter’s latest financial numbers. The two chains are getting a lot of attention of late for their competing chicken-giveaway promotions, which are obviously popular with cash-tight consumers. By almost any measure, 415-location El Pollo Loco’s...

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It’s not that I don’t think Kraft Foods (KFT) will ultimately have to raise its offer in its hostile takeover bid for Cadbury (CBY). The offer was low when it was floated in September and, thanks to changes in stock prices, the offer was even lower last week when Kraft made it official. But I’m not sure that recent confirmation of possible rival bids on Cadbury from both...

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Under President Barack Obama, the Food and Drug Administration has showed some backbone for the first time in years. But now it’s backtracking on the issue of raw oysters from the Gulf Coast, thrilling industry but disappointing health advocates. The FDA had announced new rules, effective 2011, banning raw oysters that have not been pasteurized, frozen or irradiated. When Gulf Coast...

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Though a jury found Agriprocessors former vice president Sholom Rubashkin guilty on 86 out of 91 financial fraud-related charges, Rubashkin says he’s innocent. And his friend Aaron Goldsmith says Rubashkin is innocent, too. Well, sort of. “Nobody’s proven he had money on the side or did things for his personal gain; he was trying to keep his company going. While misguided,...

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Burger King (BKC) stores are losing money on the company’s $1 double cheeseburger promotion, according to a lawsuit filed last week by the National Franchisee Association. The franchisees say the product costs them at least $1.10 per sandwich, and they’re challenging Burger King’s right to dictate maximum prices. Last summer, Burger King asked its franchisees if they would...

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I knew that Starbucks (SBUX) had given its employees an intensive crash course in Via as part of its high-profile rollout of the new instant coffee product. But I didn’t know how aggressive the company was training its employees to be. BusinessWeek is running a story on how Via sales pitches have gotten so intense that both baristas and customers are complaining. “This is the most...

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Haagen-Dazs has a new line so simple it contains only five ingredients. Doesn’t that sound healthy and wholesome? The product is ice cream and the ingredients are milk, cream, sugar and eggs, plus an additional flavor source like mint or vanilla bean. Yes, it’s still bad for you. But it will sell. “Simple” is one of the new product buzz words, along with...

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