Frozen Food Digest

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

The miracle of frozen foods.(PUBLISHER'S THOUGHTS)
Today, in this wonderful world of ours, frozen foods are part of everyone daily diet. History proves that the frozen food concept goes back much further than the colorful 79 years the frozen food in . . .

Use of nutrition labels declining, especially among young adults.(FOOD PACKAGING)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] For more than 10 years, Americans have had access to standardized nutrition information on almost all packaged foods. The current format of the Nutrition . . .

New Henningsen website showcases expanded network, capabilities.(Website overview)
Henningsen Cold Storage, one of the largest public refrigerated warehousing companies in the U.S., has launched its new customer-focused website: www.henningsen.com Sp . . .

New general sales manager.(People)
New Orleans Cold Storage ("NOCS") has announced the hiring of Jim Henderson as General Sales Manager. Henderson will be responsible for the company's overall sales and marketing efforts involving . . .

Golbon adds to staff.(People)
Golbon, America's Premier Foodservice Marketing Group, has announced that Mike Shawgo has joined the staff as VP-Purchasing & Supplier Development. Mike is a 25-year industry veteran having held sen . . .

Florida budget cuts affect warehouse plans.
Port Manatee, FL will lose $6.9 million for building a refrigerated warehouse due to statewide budget cuts. . . .

'Menu Alaska' study results reported.
77% of respondents to a recent consumer research study said that seeing the Alaska brand on a menu would influence their selection at a chain restaurant. The study, entitled "Menu Alaska" was cond . . .

Organic foods sales up.(Financial report)
Organic food sales increased by 15.8% in 2008 to reach $22.9 billion, according to the Organic Trade Association's (OTA) 2009 Organic Industry Survey. Organic food sales now account for approximat . . .

Consumers show strong brand loyalty in cheese purchases.
Consumers' brand loyalty and desire for brand varieties play an important role in the demand for food products and the profitability of U.S. food marketing firms, Firms use brand introduction as a . . .

Competing with the big boys.(Company overview)
Competing with the big boys of the cold storage industry is nothing new for the once Midwest-focused Great Lakes Cold Storage and Great Lakes Cold Logistics, a pair of sister companies. By taking . . .

NFRA hits Times Square with frozen and refrigerated foods message.
The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) will promote the quality, convenience and value of frozen and refrigerated foods on the CBS "Super Screen" in Times Square this summer. Th . . .

QC Industries releases catalog for new automation series.(Equipment Update)
QC Industries has released a catalog detailing their new Automation Series low profile belt conveyors. The 12-page catalog details the features and options available on Automation Series conveyors . . .

Lack of advertising says business is struggling say half of all adults.
More than 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store during a recession indicates the business is experiencing struggles. This, according to an Ad-ology Research study . . .

Value is top concern say 86% of Americans.
Some 86% of American consumers identify value as a top concern when shopping for food, while 74% expect fresh ingredients and well-made food regardless of price, according to a survey commissioned b . . .

Parents say kids eat too much junk food, don't exercise enough.
Some 72% of parents believe kids have too much access to junk food, while 69% feel that a lack of exercise is to blame for obesity, according to a survey of American parents released by Mintel. In . . .

AFFI urges Obama Administration to end cross-border trucking dispute with Mexico.(AFFI's Washington Watch)
AFFI joined with 140 agricultural, manufacturing and service companies and associations in signing a letter to President Obama on April 7, urging the swift resolution of a crossborder trucking dispu . . .

AFFI and others urge FDA revision of current good manufacturing practices.(AFFI's Washington Watch)
On April 17, AFFI joined 26 other food industry groups in issuing letters strongly recommending that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) make revision of the Current Good Manufacturing Practices . . .

EPA declares greenhouse gas emissions to be health threat.(AFFI's Washington Watch)
Marking a major shift in the federal government's approach to global warming, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 17 formally declared that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse ga . . .

Bill introduced to limit school a la carte options.(AFFI's Washington Watch)
On April 30, Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced a bill establishing nutrition standards for foods and beverages offered in school vending machines, stores, & la ca . . .

Some households leaving SNAP still face food shortfalls.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) is intended to help eligible low-income households obtain a more nutritious diet by increasing their fo . . .

Top 500 share of industry sales.
Full-service chains within the Top 500 accounted for only 39% of all U.S. full-service sales. As whole, FSR chains' within the Top 500 grew sales 0.9% and the FSR industry as a whole declined at a r . . .

FMI Grocery Shopper Trends 2009: recession changing consumers shopping behavior at the supermarket.
American consumers are changing their food shopping behavior and focusing on price and value at the supermarket, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) 2009 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends repo . . .

Smashburger growing.
Smashburger secured its ninth franchisee, SB Sizzle, Inc., bringing the total number of Smashburger franchise locations to 177. As a result, Smashburger will own more than 75 restaurants in Texas . . .

Environmental care.
Coca-Cola Co. and Stater Bros. Supermarkets are planting 1 million seedlings at two California state parks. . . .

Online spending flat.
Online retail spending in the first quarter remained flat versus year ago, but posted a slight increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, according to comScore, Inc. . . .

Tasti D-Lite to open 35 stores in Northeast.
Tasti D-Lite and franchisee MM Ventures LLC will open 35 stores in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut over the next 10 years, reported Nation's Restaurant News . . .

87% of consumers want to save more, spend less.
Some 87% of consumers now claim that is their intention to save more and spend less, 13% more than in December 2008, according to a Technomic survey. Of those surveyed, 51% also believe the economy . . .

Potato acreage reduced.
Processors of french fries and other frozen potato products reduced overall contracted potato acreage in the Northwest this year by an estimated 8% to 10% due to shrinking demand. Potato growers w . . .

H1N1 detected on Smithfield hog farms.
No H1N1 influenza was detected on Smithfield Foods Inc.'s hog farms in Mexico, according to the company. . . .

Labeling legislation.
In Hawaii, meat and fish treated with gas would be labeled under a measure passed by the state legislature. The bill would require stores to accurately label meat and fish that was gassed to enhan . . .

Global rice prices reach record levels.
Global rice prices rose to record highs in the spring of 2008, with trading prices tripling from November 2007 to late April 2008, according to an ERS report. The price increase was not due to cro . . .

HenneCold doubles size of Tampa facility.
HenneCold Storage has doubled the size of its Tampa, Florida location, acquiring a 17,000 square-foot perishable storage facility and adding 10 full-time employees to its workforce. . . .

4.1% of restaurants fail in 2008.
Some 388 U.S. restaurants, or 4.1%, went out of business in 2008, according to Chain Store Guide. . . .

Sales up at fast-casual restaurant chains.(Financial report)
Sales for the Top 100 fast-casual restaurant chains grew 10.8%, totaling $16.7 billion for 2008, according to a Technomic report. Unit growth was also strong, as units for the Top 100 grew by 7.3% . . .

Steel King announces Guard Dawg pallet rack protection.(Equipment Update)
In busy warehouses, pallet rack damage is a fact of life. Damage is common along an upright's first 6" to 12" of column from the floor due to fork truck impact, especially at end rows, tunnels, dr . . .

Vietnam fast food industry booming.(Equipment Update)
The fast food industry in Vietnam, dominated by foreign companies, is booming and expects increases in sales to continue this year. . . .

Refrigerated transporter closes.(Equipment Update)
In their May, 2009 edition, their last edition, Ray Anderson, group publisher, stated: "After 45 wonderful years, it is with much regret that I have to announce the closure of Refrigerated Transport . . .

Aleco doors help foodservice industry.(Equipment Update)
Aleco is helping foodservice industry professionals comply with the Energy Independence and security Act of 2007, which became law January 1, 2009. Under this legislation, new walk-in coolers and . . .

Adaptive Cruise Control promotes safety.(Equipment Update)
Mack Trucks has introduced a new safety system that helps prevent accidents by maintaining a safe vehicle following distance through the use of proactive braking and driver alerts. The Mack Road S . . .

HAWCO offers total cooling solutions.(Equipment Update)
Hawco, an international controls and refrigeration engineering service provider and distributor, has expanded its refrigeration product offerings to provide total cooling solutions for mobile refrig . . .

Rochester Midland introduces new direct intervention process for fruit and vegetable processing sanitation.(Equipment Update)
Rochester Midland has introduced a new BrandGuard[R] Food Sanitation Program for fruit and vegetable manufacturers that reduces the risk of pathogens and spoilage microbes in fruit and vegetable pro . . .

USCS achieves maximum operational efficiencies with Psion Tek devices.(Equipment Update)
Psion Teklogix, Inc. (LSE: PON.L), a global provider of mobile computing solutions, has announced that United States Cold Storage (USCS), one of the leading public refrigerated warehousing (PRW) com . . .

Ashworth creates solutions.(Equipment Update)(Ashworth Brothers Inc.)(Brief article)
Ashworth has created a solution to help processors pinpoint undetected high-tension problems in spirals to extend belt life and prevent unexpected breakdowns. Ashworth now provides Tension Tests w . . .

Flexible Bag Caser.
Westfalia Deam Systems has developed the flexible Bag Caser, which provides fast and smooth case loading for both liquid and powder filled bags. . . .

New plant in Georgia.
Thai Union Frozen plans to spend a combined $20 million on a new plant in Georgia. . . .

Tofutti recall.
Tofutti Brands Inc. initiated a voluntary recall of its Vanilla Cuties mini sandwich frozen dessert novelties due to possible trace level milk contamination. . . .

FDA warns General Mills.
FDA sent General Mills Inc. a warning over health claims made on boxes of Cheerios cereal, alleging they contain violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Based on the claim "you can . . .

IRTA elects new officers and Board Members.
IRTA elected new officers and Board Members at the IARW-WFLOIRTA Annual Convention & Expo in March 2009. Andrew Janson (Hanson Logistics) was elected 2009-2010 Chairman of IRTA. Chris Kozak (Willi . . .

Linde North America introduces Cryoline[R] PE freezer for portion control shapes of liquid or sauce foods.(Equipment Update)
In the highly competitive food industry, processors are constantly looking for technology that will give them that edge to differentiate themselves from the competition. Linde North America, a mem . . .

Sara Lee files suit against Kraft for advertisements.
Sara Lee Corp. is filing a lawsuit on behalf of its Ball Park brand alleging Kraft Oscar Mayer hot dogs are being falsely advertised in violation of federal and state laws. The lawsuit specificall . . .