More Tasty Tidbits

• News reports show that Nestlé relied on its own auditors to evaluate (negatively) the health and safety of peanut products from PCA (Peanut Corporation of America), the firm tied to the recent fatal salmonella outbreak. Other companies relied on auditors under contract to PCA who missed the most egregious problems. An investigation has unearthed internal emails at the troubled peanut processor indicating tainted shipments went out with the full knowledge of the company’s president.

• With conventional auctions tanking in this economy, auctioneers are making sales with groceries, usually leftovers and damaged goods. The FDA does not specifically prohibit the sale of out-of-date or expired foods, which are generally considered safe, if less tasty. Consumers, especially in rural communities or those hard-hit by unemployment, like the low prices, though like with any auction, egos sometimes send bids above store costs.

• BI-LO supermarkets and its private equity owner, Lone Star Funds, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Their 215 supermarkets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee employing over 15,000 people will remain open as the company reorganizes.

• Panera Bread is in talks with undisclosed retailers to put a small-footprint version of its cafes in-store.

• In a rare bit of good news in the casual dining sector, Darden Restaurants (owners of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains among its 1,700 restaurants) has reported strong sales & earnings with only a 6% decline over last year. Analysts who have watched casual dining chains like Outback Steakhouse implode had expected far worse results, but apparently diners are trading down to Darden properties from more expensive eateries.

• Carrying coals to Newcastle? Campbell’s Soup is targeting Russia and China because 50% of the world’s soup is consumed in those two markets, though all of it is homemade….

• A Bloom store in South Carolina has introduced cart-mounted technology that helps customers find products and see what's on sale. The touch-screen device from Springboard Retail Networks includes a Global Positioning System that alerts shoppers to nearby discounts. Bloom is a subsidiary of Food Lion.

• After years of aggressive expansion, hotels are cutting back their food offerings, including reducing the hours in lobby eateries, shuttering unprofitable properties, shrinking menus (especially breakfast buffets) and even dropping small amenities like free coffee.

• The Suntava company is growing a non-genetically modified (GMO) purple corn hybrid that produces natural red and yellow dyes, possibly replacing Red #40. Studies in the US and the UK have linked food coloring to hyperactivity in children.

• Celebrity wine & food continues with Sting’s own brand of Tuscan wine to go on sale in the US and the UK.

• PETA, the most militant of the animal rights groups, is targeting British chef Jaime Oliver for his efforts to promote consumers buying local pork products over cheaper imported ones. Despite Oliver’s claims that British pigs are treated better than their imported cousins, PETA feels the best solution is to “go vegetarian.”

• In the UK complaints are at record levels about alcohol beverage manufacturers marketing their products to under-age drinkers in spite of the industry self-regulatory body (the Portman Group) promising to limit advertising to those under 18.

• Retailer Big Y will follow Wal-Mart’s lead and offer 300 inexpensive generic drugs to consumers who sign up for its own pharmacy program.

• In a trend sure to disturb QSRs, the government has announced it is looking into regulating food advertising to teens. Currently advertising is restricted to children under 12 but the age level would be raised to at least 18.

• Brits love their gum: a new report blames discarded chewing gum for ¾ of the litter on UK streets, and the government is demanding confectioners come up with some solution.

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