A booming business in 'low-mileage lettuce'

Until now, it has been nearly impossible for small local farmers to supply major supermarket chains because of costly food safety requirements, restrictions that grew more stringent following the 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach. But with an investment from a group of entrepreneurs under the age of 30, along with a $250,000 grant from Maine's agriculture department, Locally Known built a processing plant that washes, dries, and packages the greens to meet industry standards.

If you want to trade food and beverage on the market, PBJ is your stock

PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield of an equity index called the Dynamic Food & Beverage Intellidex Index (the Food & Beverage Intellidex). The Food & Beverage Intellidex consists of stocks of 30 United States food and beverage companies. These are companies that are engaged in the manufacture, sale or distribution of food and beverage products, agricultural products and products related to the development of new food technologies. These companies may include companies that sell products and services, such as meat and poultry processing, and wholesale and retail distribution and warehousing of food and food-related products, including restaurants, grocery stores, brewers, distillers and vintners, as well as companies that manufacture and distribute products, including soft drinks, packaged food products, health food and dietary products. Its investment advisor is PowerShares Capital Management LLC.

More information on the ETF can be found here:

http://www.invescopowershares.com/products/overview.aspx?ticker=PBJ

http://www.invescopowershares.com/pdf/P-PBJ-PC-1.pdf

Wine, meat and bananas all see prices surge

Wine, meat and bananas have all becomes victims of surging prices due to a combination of rising fuel costs, poor harvests and weak currency.

Five operators share counter-attack strategies for the rising costs of doing business.

It’s no secret that rising food costs have affected everyone in the retail and restaurant industries, and with reason: 2008’s big picture doesn’t look favorable.

New data from Chicago-based researcher Mintel suggests that more consumers have moved from spending less on food away from home to curtailing restaura

restaurants still can fare well. “By highlighting cost savings, all restaurants can maintain steady business.”

U.S. Corn Belt Under Siege By Flooding

In the state’s capital city of Des Moines, which is surrounded by corn and soybean fields, a levee holding back rising flood waters broke this weekend and swamped the city. It is the worst flooding the city has seen in 15 years.

FDA News

FDA Warns Consumers Nationwide Not to Eat Certain Types of Raw Red Tomatoes

Restaurants pull tomatoes after Salmonella outbreak

OAK BROOK, ILL. — Several of the nation’s top quick-service restaurant chains and supermarkets have begun pulling certain types of tomatoes over concerns about Salmonella food poisoning linked to uncooked tomatoes.

Chef Grant Achatz wins top James Beard award

Grant Achatz of the Chicago restaurant Alinea, who last year overcame a mouth cancer that threatened his life and his ability to taste, was named the country's outstanding chef Sunday night at the 18th James Beard Foundation Awards in New York.

Wine service: Eleven Madison Park, New York.

Wine/spirits professional: Terry Theise, Estate Selections, Silver Spring, Md.

Great Lakes region chef: Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago.

New York chef: David Chang, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, New York.

Southwest chef: Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colo.

Mid-Atlantic chef: Eric Ziebold, CityZen, Washington, D.C.

Northeast chef: Patrick Connolly, Radius, Boston.

South chef: Michelle Bernstein, Michy's, Miami

Pacific chef: Craig Stoll, Delfina, San Francisco

Midwest chef: Adam Siegel, Bartolotta's Lake Park Bistro, Milwaukee

Northwest chef: Holly Smith, Café Juanita, Kirkland, Wash.

Southeast chef: Robert Stehling, Hominy Grill, Charleston, S.C.

Brilliant young chef battles tongue cancer

Culinary master conquers tenacious disease; his cutting edge cuisine thrives

As Costs Keep Rising, Restaurateurs Find Creative Ways to Cope

The last delivery of 100-pound sacks of flour cost $7 more apiece than the previous load had, said Ms. Levin, whose restaurant runs through 1,000 pounds a week. Blueberries trucked down from Maine will cost $38 per flat, up from $24 last summer, she said. And a five-gallon jug of maple syrup from Canada recently leaped to $250 from $200, she said.

Whole Foods halts tomato sales amid salmonella scare

Whole Foods Market Inc. has halted sales of fresh Roma and large field-grown round tomatoes at all its stores after the Texas Department of State Health Services warned of a salmonella outbreak linked to eating uncooked tomatoes.

Corn Rises to Record as Rain Threatens U.S. Crop; Soybeans Gain

June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Corn rose to a record for a second day, and soybeans reached a three-month high, as excessive Midwest rains flooded fields, delaying completion of spring planting and increasing the risk of U.S. crop losses.

Oil Rises to Record on Weakening Dollar, Morgan Stanley Outlook

June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil surged more than $10 a barrel to a record as the dollar weakened after the U.S. unemployment rate grew the most in two decades and Morgan Stanley said prices may reach $150 within a month.

'Green' menu items have potential for success

Environmentally friendly menu offerings have the potential to help boost a restaurant’s bottom line and provide competitive differentiation if marketed aggressively, according to market researcher The NPD Group.

Unilever Looks To Offload Bertolli

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever is considering selling its Bertolli olive oil business according to the group's Finance Director.


Upward Trend World Olive Oil Consumption

Smithfield Foods income slides 23% in '08

SMITHFIELD, VA. — The rising cost of grain coupled with falling prices for hogs led to lower earnings at Smithfield Foods, Inc. in fiscal 2008.

Salmonella outbreak linked to raw tomatoes

preliminary data suggest that large tomatoes, including Roma and red round, are the source.