Listeria-Tainted Meat Causes Deaths in Canada
At least 13 people have died from eating processed meat products
from Maple Leaf Foods, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that turned out
to be contaminated with listeria. Lawsuits have been filed
against the company in four provinces, and Maple Leafs stock is
taking a beating.
The contaminated meat...
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Cold News for Hot Pockets
More than 200,000 frozen pepperoni pizza Hot Pockets have been
recalled by their producer, Nestle Prepared Foods Co, which said
they might contain "foreign materials."
The recalled items include the 54-ounce, 12-pack cartons, with
"8157544614D," "BEST BEFORE JAN 2010," and "EST 7721A" printed ...
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New York Teens Expose Fish Fakery
A number of New York City sushi restaurants and grocery stores
are playing bait and switch with fish, say two high school
students turned high-tech sleuths who have been using DNA testing.
Kate Stoeckle and Louisa Strauss, who graduated this year from
the Trinity School in Manhattan, took on a...
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Madagascar Shrimp Certified by Friend of the Sea
Gel-Pêche, Bougenais, France, has obtain the international
sustainability certification from Friend of the Sea for its
shrimp, following audit by independent certification body.
According to the latest official stock assessments reported by
FAO, the Penaeus species fished by Gel-Pêche supplie...
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Nissin Getting Down to Cold Business
Nissin Food Products of Japan plans to make a full-fledged entry
into the prepared frozen food market in September, just a month
before it spins off its frozen operations/.
The company will launch eight prepared frozen meal products
featuring high quality, aiming to attract middle-aged and eld...
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ConAgra Graduates to Recycled Plastic for Food Trays
ConAgra Foods, Omaha, Nebraska, has opted to incorporate
post-consumer recycled plastic in its frozen meal trays, a move
it said will divert approximately eight million pounds a year of
plastic from landfills to the recycling stream.
Most frozen meals trays are made of crystallized PET plastic...
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American Seafoods Expands Fleet
America Seafoods Group (American Seafoods), Seattle, Washington,
USA, has acquired the factory trawler HIGHLAND LIGHT and the
fishing vessel TRACY ANNE from subsidiaries of Yardarm Knot,
Inc. following the receipt of applicable government approvals.
With the acquisition, American Seafoods ...
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Brazil Taps India for Poultry Exports
A deal has been reached for the export of unprocessed poultry
meat from Brazil to India -- potentially reaching 300,000 tons in
the first year.
The Brazilian Association of Chicken Producers and Exporters
(ABEF) said that this could make India the number one buyer of
Brazilian chicken. Until ...
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Top China Food Safety Official a Suicide
Wu Jianping, chief of China's food quality regulatory agency,
killed himself recently. The circumstances surrounding his
suicide were said to have involved unexplained assets and money
out proportion to his official income.
The 42-year-old Wu jumped off a building on August 2, a day after
he...
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China Close to Mea Culpa on Dumplings
China has stopped just short of admitting responsibility for
contamination of frozen dumplings that made 10 people sick in
Japan by acknowledging that they also caused illness in China,
Japanese media have reported.
Both countries had denied that the pesticide contamination
happened on thei...
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France's Tipiak Boosts Sales
Consolidated turnover for the first half of 2008 was up 7.8% to
68 million euros at Tipiak, Saint-Herblain. France.
Growth strengthened during the second quarter in both the frozen
and dry food segments, but was more marked in the latter.
Tipiak's frozen food segment accounted for 59% of the g...
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ITC Foods to Enter Domestic Indian QFF Market
ITC Foods, New Delhi, India, plans to enter the fledgling
domestic frozen food sector over the next six to eight months,
expand its Kitchens of India brand to frozen ready meals and snacks.
The company recently started exporting frozen vegetarian foods to
markets such as the US and Canada, (e...
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Canadian QFF Chain Expands into US
M&M Meat Shops, a Canadian-based chain of frozen food specialty
stores aimed at providing fast, fully prepared meals for people
who don't have time to cook, has opened its first five stores in
the United States under the MyMenu banner.
"What sold us on opening our first stores in Madison was ...
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Russians Put Brakes on Poultry Imports
The Russians really know how to put the squeeze on foreign
business, and they've squeezed the US poultry lobby into agreeing
to support drastic cuts in tariff quotas for exports to Russia
country beginning next year.
"We do not know what the exact quota next year is going to be, as
there exis...
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USDA Posts Interim Country-of-Origin Rule
The US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) has posted an interim final rule on mandatory
country-of-origin labeling of meat products. The new requirements
take effect Sept. 30.
The rule incorporates changes to the original statute that were
included in the 2008 f...
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Expanded Plant for Official Green Bay Packer Pizza
Kraft Pizza Company, maker of DiGiorno frozen pizza, has broken
ground for expansion of its manufacturing plant in Little Chute,
Wisconsin -- just as its brand was named Official Pizza of the
Green Bay Packers.
A new pizza crust bakery line and assembly line will be
installed, enabling a sig...
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UK Glendale's Snacks Go Premium
Glendale Foods, Salford, England, has launched a premium version
of its home takeaway snacks range, under the name Glendale Classics.
With a recommended retail price of £1.59 and presented in
distinctive, upscale packaging, the range offers flavors and
portion sizes that are close to a takeawa...
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Another Buyout for Young's and Findus
British private equity firm Lion Capital has agreed to buy
CapVest's frozen food operation, The FoodVest Group, in a deal an
inside source said was worth £1.1 billion ($2.21 billion).
FoodVest, which owns the Young's and Findus brands, has leading
market positions in Britain, Scandinavia and F...
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PRW Capacity on the Rise Worldwide
Public refrigerated warehouse (PRW) storage capacity is
increasing around the world, according to the International
Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) Global Cold Storage
Capacity Report.
The report is based on data from over 40 countries, more than
ever before. In addition, IARW h...
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Prices Soaring Everywhere
Ouch! Ajinomoto Frozen Foods of Japan its raising prices on
retail frozen food items by an average of 20%.
Prices on some items, including hamburgers and croquettes, are
going up on Aug. 21 and the rest on Sept. 4, the company said.
The hikes reflect higher prices of dairy and livestock produc...
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Hortex Faces QFF Challenge in Poland
Agros Nova, Warsaw, Poland, will offer frozen food products for
the first time this fall under the Lowicz brand, which is already
the market leader in sauce and third in ready meals.
The company, which expects its revenues are to reach 950 million
zlotys (291 million euros) this year, is givin...
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Industry Welcomes EU Fruit and Vegetable Promo
OEITFL (Organisation Européenne des Industries Transformatrices
de Fruits et Légumes), the trade association of the European
fruit and vegetable processing industry, has welcomed a proposal
to set up an European Union-wide School Fruit and Vegetable
Scheme in the overall aim to increase fruitand...
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GAA, ACC Welcome New US Seafood Safety Initiative
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and the Aquaculture
Certification Council (ACC) have both welcomed a pilot program by
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the safety of
imported food.
The program allows third-party certification of farmed shrimp,
according to US Departmen...
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Kuwait Bans Chicken Exports
Kuwait has banned the export of frozen chicken as of August to
maintain sufficient supplies locally as part of efforts to combat
shortages and high prices.
The world's seventh-largest oil exporter is fighting record
inflation, which hit 10.1 per cent in February, the latest
published figure ...
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KX Logistics Opens Distribution Center in Beijing
Beijing-based Kangxin (KX) Logistics (KXL), a joint venture
partner of Rich Products, Buffalo, New York, USA, has opened one
of the People's Republic of China's largest refrigerated and
frozen food warehouses in Beijing.
KXL, said to be Chinas's premier cold-chain third-party logistics
(3PL...
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Schön Retires as CEO of R&R Deutschland
Achim Schön has stepped down as chief executive officer of R&R
Ice Cream Deutschland and passed the firm's direction on to
Hans-Dietrich Kühl, who since February has been the company's
director of marketing and sales for Continental Europe. Schön
will now serve as a member of the board.
Kü...
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Yearsley Group Acquires Innovate Frozen
The Yearsley Group, Heywood, England, has just acquired the
business of Innovate Frozen, which operated four coldstores, from
its administrators.
"This acquisition significantly strengthens Yearsley Group's
share of the UK cold storage and distribution market," said Harry
Yearsley, managing ...
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Green Warehouse Coming to Baltimore
A strategically-located parcel of land in Baltimore, Maryland,
USA, that once housed a General Motors plant will be the site of
a new state-of-the-art environmentally-friendly refrigerated
distribution center to be built by Merchants Terminal Corp.,
according to Harry Halpert, president of the P...
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CFS Gets New Leadership
Brian McCluskie will take over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of CFS from David Ryan, effective August 1st 2008. After a
transition period, Ryan will return to his position on the CFS
Supervisory Board (and an Operating Partner with AEA Investors,
majority owners of CFS).
McCluskie was prev...
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Putting the Freeze on Carbon
Japan's Ajinomoto Co. reportedly plans as early as next year to
introduce labels showing the total amount of carbon dioxide
emissions from production and distribution of its frozen foods
and other products.
In cooperation with retailer Aeon Co., Dai Nippon Printing Co.
and can manufacturer To...
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Dr. Oetker Buys Guseppe Brand
Dr. August Oetker KG, the closely-held German company best known
for its frozen food although it has major interests in shipping
and other areas, dropped a bombshell June 17 with word that it
has acquired Orkla ASAs Guseppe frozen food brand.
The news came as Dr. Oetker reported an 8.4% gain...
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Schwan Names Flack to Top Post
Greg Flack has been named the new chief executive officer,
president and chief operating officer of the Schwan Food Co.,
Marshall, Minnesota, USA.
Flack, who has worked for Schwan for more than 21 years, had
served as interim ceo and president since February, when Lenny
Pippin suddenly resign...
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British Frozen Food Federation Honors Top Products
Chocolate Marquise, made for Marks & Spencer's private label by
H.J. Heinz Co. Ltd. won the Retail Product of the Year award an
the annual Gala Dinner Dance of the British Frozen Food
Federation. It was the second year in a row for the retailer to
receive top honors.
The Catering Product of t...
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Ardo Building New Distribution Center
Ardo, Ardooie, Belgium, frozen vegetable giant, is building b a
35-meter high European distribution center next to its
headquarters with storage capacity for 32,000 pallets.
With ten loading bays and a completely automated stock management
system, it will only take 30 minutes to fully load a...
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Dutch Vion Buying UK's Grampian
Vion Food Group, Son en Breugel, the Netherlands, has
strengthened its position in the United Kingdom with an agreement
to acquire Grampian Country Food Group, one of the UK's largest
food companies. The takeover still needs to be approved by
competition authorities.
Grampian, based in Living...
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Russia and Japan Bar Chicken from Arkansas
Russia and Japan have both suspended imports of chicken processed
in Arkansas, and investors are worried that other countries may
follow suit.
Banning imports from just one state may not seem like a big deal,
but Arkansas accounts for 33% of Russian chicken imports, and the
poultry industry d...
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Malaysian Seafood Exporters Face EU Ban
The European Commission is seeking a ban on Malaysian seafood and
live fish imports over concerns they fail to meet European Union
standards, an official said June 11.
The action comes after random checks of nine seafood companies by
the EU's Food and Veterinary Office, in cooperation with
Ma...
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South Koreans Rage Against US Beef
A 40-year old South Korean man set fire to himself and died of
his burns two weeks later as street protests mounted against
plans to resume imports of American beef -- and threatened to
bring down the government of President Lee Myung-bak.
Lee was out of the country when the protestor died, on...
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Nissin Acquiring Nicky to Boost Frozen Sales
Japan's Nissin Food Products Co. said June 9 that it will acquire
midsize frozen food maker Nicky Foods Co. for 1.789 billion yen,
in order to strengthen its frozen food business.
Nissin Food, a major noodle maker known for its "Cup Noodle"
series, will buy all shares of Osaka-based Nicky Food...
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Frozen Food Pioneer Horowitz Dies at 90
Maurice K. Horowitz, 90, a nationally respected frozen food
expert, best known for his work with Coldwater Seafood's
Icelandic brand, died May 19 at his home in Atlanta, Georgia.
Back in the 1940s when refrigerators had tiny freezers that held
only two ice trays and maybe a pint of ice cream, ...
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Mild Bird Flu, Severe Export Threat?
It wasn't a threat to humans when Tyson Foods, second largest US
chicken producer, found a mild form of bird flu in some of its
chickens and ordered 15,000 destroyed to contain the outbreak.
But it was really bad news, just the same, and not just for Tyson
but for the entire American poultry i...
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AFFI Joins Food Safety Partnership
The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) is one of the latest
industry groups to join the Partnership for Food Safety
Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving
public health through research-based, actionable consumer food
safety education. Also joining is the Grocery Manufact...
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Heinz to Build Frozen Meal Plant in South Carolina
H.J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, is about to build
a frozen food plant in Florence, South Carolina to produce Weight
Watchers Smart Ones and Boston Market brand frozen meals.
According to the Florence County Economic Development Partnership
and the South Carolina Department of Co...
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Refrigerated Trucking Line Takes Pedal off the Metal
Refrigerated truck line Frozen Food Express Industries, Dallas,
Texas, USA has told drivers of its company-run trucks to slow
down from 65 to 62 miles per hour in an attempt to combat
escalating fuel costs.
"This is a decision we've been contemplating for quite some time,
and we simply have t...
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Denmark's Unibake Acquires UK Bakery
Lantmännen Unibake, Horsens, Denmark, supplier of frozen bread
products, has acquired Eurobuns, another bakery operation just
outside of London, England. It was the third acquisition this
year for the Danish company, and the largest yet.
The acquisition will give Unibake production capability...
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French Fry Pioneer J.R. Simplot Dies at 99
It seemed as if the whole city turned out May 25 at a memorial
service for J.R. Simplot, founder of the potato products company
that bears his name, at the Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho. Simplot
died earlier that day at the age of 99.
"'J.R.' as you knew him, Dad, and Granddad to us, seemed larg...
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Thaifex 2008 Draws 22,000+ Visitors
Some 22,000 trade visitors swarmed into Bangkok, Thailand, May
21-25 for Thaifex -- World of Food Asia 2008.
Halal and organic products were among the offerings from some of
the more than 1,000 exhibitors, along with food catering and
hospitality services, food technology and retail and franch...
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Nummy Nums for Babies -- and Depression
She doesn't just make frozen baby food; she has her own frozen
baby food store. Arlene B. Yanover, who started making her own
baby food to take her mind off post-partum depression after the
birth of her first child, has now become an entrepreneur.
Nummy Nums baby foods are being sold at Whole ...
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Pinguin Triples Sales with Acquisitions
Thanks to the acquisition of Van Den Broeke Lutosa, Salvesen and
the Padley group, sales of the Pinguin Group, Westrozebeke,
Belgium, more than tripled, from 37,038,683 to 113,950,979 euros,
for the first quarter of 2008.
The frozen vegetables division, which now includes Salvesen and
Padley,...
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FAO to Address Seafood Sustainability
Working towards sustainable seafood resources will be on the
agenda June 2-6 at the 11th meeting of the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) Sub-Committee on Fish Trade in
Bremen, Germany.
The event will bring together expert representatives from over 60
governments in discussions on a ...
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Marine Harvest Still Has Problems
Norwegian aquaculture giant Marine Harvest is still hurting from
disease problems at its salmon farms in Chile, but got some small
satisfaction from a correction to a March 27 article in The New
York Times attacking the Chilean operation.
In an Editor's Note May 13, the Times admitted that a "...
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Watch for Higher Prices in Canada
Canadians have escaped soaring food prices so far, but now
watch out, warned Henry Demone, ceo of High Liner Foods, as the
company released its first quarter figures.
"Frankly, Canada has been in a bubble from all this stuff," said
Demone. "There's been very little food inflation and I just...
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British Birds Eye Finds New Selling Poin t
Birds Eye's there to save to save the day in the UK -- with a
campaign promoting frozen food as the cure for an epidemic of
food waste.
British consumers waste £10.2 billion ($19.95 billion) worth of
food each year, according to a report released by the UK
government-backed Waste & Resources ...
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Frozen Foodservice Pioneer Dies at 84
Paul B. Gordon, under whom Gordon Food Service Inc. grew into
one of the largest family-owned frozen food distributors in
North America, May 8 at the age of 84.
Gordon's grandparents started the business in 1897, delivering
eggs and butter from a horse-drawn cart. After serving in the
Nav...
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High Liner Riding High
High Liner Foods, Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, is doing well this
year, thanks to the acquisition of Fishery Products International
operations, according to its report on first quarter operations.
"Our acquisition of FPI's Manufacturing and Marketing Group in
December 2007 resulted in growth in sa...
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FMC Spins off Equipment Business
FMC Technologies, Houston, Texas, USA, is spinning off both its
FoodTech food processing equipment business and its Airport
Systems operation, which makes equipment like baggage loaders,
into a now company called John Bean Technologies Corporation (JBT
Corporation). The spin-off takes effect Jun...
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Gourmet Listeria Scare
A Queens, New York-based food company, Gourmet Boutique, is
recalling more than 286,000 pounds of meat and poultry because
they might be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria
monocytogenes.((
The food-borne bacteria can cause illness and death. Listeria can
be transferred in common foods th...
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Where Did Those Dumplings Really Come From?
Yet more fallout from Japan's tainted dumpling scandal: the
country's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has warned
Ajinomoto Frozen Foods that countries of origin statements for
ingredients used its frozen gyoza dumplings are misleading,
according to Yomiuri Shimbun.
Ajinomoto uses...
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Poisoning Case Hurts Chinese Exports to Japan
China's food exports to Japan for the first two months of this
year slumped in the wake of a dumpling poisoning case that led 10
people to fall sick, state-run media reported. And the poisoning
has since recurred.
January and February Chinese food shipments to Japan totaled
471,000 tons worth...
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Non-Frozen Sales Save Japan Tobacco
Profits at Japan Tobacco increased 13.3% in the year ended in
March, but the company's frozen food operations had nothing to do
with it. Overseas sales of cigarettes and cigars did the trick --
thanks in part to acquistion of Gallaher, a British tobacco maker.
JT bought a majority stake in Kat...
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WWF and Marine Harvest Eco Friendly
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Norway and Marine Harvest ASA have
announced a new partnership to reduce the environmental impacts
and ecological footprint of the companys aquaculture operations.
"Farming of species such as salmon and cod can have serious
environmental impact, therefore we are very...
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AFFI Opposes Proposed Regulatory Changes
With food prices already soaring, the last thing we need is an
onerous new regulatory regime that imposes high fees on the food
industry without actually doing anything to improve food safety,
according to the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI).
At issue is a working draft of Food and Drug ...
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Greenpeace Invades Tuna Stands at ESE
Greenpeace activists temporarily took over stands of five major
tuna suppliers at the European Seafood Exposition April 23, until
the cops arrived and hauled them off in handcuffs.
The protestors also took over the show's public address system to
air their charges that tuna and other fisheries...
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Frozen Food Plant May Lose Rail Service
Lindsay, California-based Tulare Frozen Foods, may be a small
company - but it could be in big trouble if it loses a rail
connection that saves it $500,000 a year on shipping 50 million
pounds of frozen vegetables as far as Texas, Florida and New
Jersey.
Rail America, which owns the San...
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Jailhouse Frozen Food Rocks!
Utah's prison system is looking into pre-prepared frozen food as
a way to cut costs and eliminate waste in feeding prisoners.
The idea is to prepare a week's worth of meals for the 6,500
inmates in Draper and Gunnison in one location at the same time
and freeze them. They would then be taken ...
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