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Jimmy John’s has asked its franchises to pull alfalfa sprouts believed to be tied to outbreaks of salmonella in Illinois and Wisconsin.
The sandwich chain says it is pulling them as a “good faith and good will gesture.”
Illinois health officials have confirmed that 43 Illinois residents and one Wisconsin resident have salmonella. Get the full story »
Battling back from a dismal 2009, Gatorade is putting on its game face and launching a new advertising campaign seeking to cast itself as more than a sports drink.
Starting Wednesday, the Chicago-based unit of PepsiCo Inc. will be promoting in commercials its “G Series,” a trio of products it introduced earlier this year that targets student athletes looking for a drink before, during and after a workout or athletic event. Get the full story »
Chicago-based Hart Davis Hart reported its yearly wine auction sales totaled $39.2 million, a 63 percent increase over 2009. Get the full story »
Sara Lee Corp. is considering selling itself to Brazilian meat producer JBS, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter.
JBS approached Sara Lee first and discussions between the two companies have been on and off for several months, the Journal reported, citing these sources. Sara Lee has been considering JBS’s offer more seriously of late, according to the Journal. Get the full story »
General Mills Inc. said price increases on foods such as frozen vegetables and baking products should help it meet its profit target for the year.
The company also said it is on track to cut $1 billion in costs by the end of May 2012, which should help offset rising commodity costs that contributed to weaker-than-expected second-quarter results. And new products such as Cinnamon Burst Cheerios and Gluten Free Bisquick will lift sales. Get the full story »
A 3-year-old eats fries from his Happy Meal in a California McDonald's. (AP /Eric Risberg)
After months of threats, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has sued Oak Brook-based McDonald’s, alleging that its practice of giving toys with children’s meals is deceptive advertising.
The organization garnered a slew of media attention last summer when it threatened to sue McDonald’s, claiming that the toys constitute a method of circumventing parental control and teaching children unhealthy eating from a early age. Get the full story »
Dannon Co. has agreed pay $21 million and drop some health claims for its Activia yogurt and DanActive dairy drink under pressure from state and federal regulators.
The food company has claimed in its marketing that its Activia yogurt helps relieve irregularity and that its DanActive drink helps people avoid colds or the flu. Get the full story »
Kraft Foods Inc. raised list prices on its well-known Maxwell House and Yuban coffee brands in the United States, effective Dec 14, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. Get the full story »
McDonald’s Corp. plans to double the number of its restaurants in China to 2,000 by 2013, a senior executive said on Wednesday as it speeds up expansion in the fastest growing major economy.
The top global fast food chain, which opened its first outlet in the southern boom town of Shenzhen 20 years ago, is facing fierce competition with Yum Brands Inc., the parent of Pizza Hut and KFC, which has roughly 3,700 outlets in China. Get the full story »
Crain’s Chicago Business | The Chicago Plan Commission is scheduled Thursday to consider plans for a 4,600-square-foot Chick-fil-A restaurant in the parking lot of the Home Depot on Elston Avenue.
A feud between Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods Inc. over supermarket coffee sales has been brewing since at least January — far longer than Kraft has acknowledged — according to email exchanges between their top executives provided by Starbucks.
The rift became public last month, when the Seattle coffee company said it wanted to end its 12-year-old distribution deal with Kraft, which sells bags of Starbucks coffee in supermarkets and other stores. Get the full story »
U.K.-based Diageo PLC, the world’s largest spirits company by volume, said Tuesday it is seeing signs of a recovery in demand in the U.S., though the consumer environment in the country remains unsettled.
“The fiscal 2011 situation remains unsettled, but we see signs of recovery. There is still high unemployment and low consumer confidence, but there are emerging, positive signs of life in fall retail sales. We are encouraged (by that),” Ivan Menezes, Diageo’s president of North America and chairman of the Asia-Pacific region, said on a call with investors. Get the full story »
From the Financial Times | The chief executive of McDonald’s has described critics of the company who have tried to curtail the sale of Happy Meals aimed at children as “food police” and accused them of undermining parents in making decisions for their families, in an interview with the Financial Times
“We’ll continue to sell Happy Meals,” said Skinner adding that the new rule “really takes personal choice away from families who are more than capable of making their own decisions”. Get the full story>>
The soft drink makers who brought you the “cola wars” are gearing up to fight on another battlefield, where the secret weapons are sweeteners and “flavor enhancers.”
John Sicher, editor of trade publication Beverage Digest calls it the “ingredient war.” Get the full story »
