FDA begins salmonella tests on pet food

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November 2, 2011 News for the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry   Company Watch    ConAgra executive shares sustainability insights Robert Weick said ConAgra did not have a sustainability program when he joined the company five years ago as vice president of packaging and sustainability. "I think it's a tribute to organizations across the spectrum that sustainability has really taken on a much more complete meaning," he said. "Packaging is but one component." PlasticsNews.com (11/1)        Sara Lee split is likely in April or May, says CEO April or May is the likely time frame for Sara Lee to divide into two companies, one for beverages and one for meat, said CEO Marcel Smits. He also said acquisitions are possible, saying, "We've gained a reputation for being very shareholder friendly, so within that constraint we keep looking." Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.)/Bloomberg (11/1)      Pringles sale on hold during Diamond investigation Procter & Gamble, which expected to sell its Pringles brand to Diamond Foods by the end of the year, now says the sale will be delayed while Diamond Foods conducts an internal investigation. The investigation is related to communication about payments to walnut farmers. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.)/The Associated Press (11/1)      John Jantsch invites you to go local As customers continue to rely on the Web to help them screen local businesses, local businesses must take steps to ensure that they pop to the top of online searches. Duct Tape Marketing's John Jantsch offers strategies for local marketing success in this free white paper from American Express OPEN, How to Win at the Local Marketing Game. Download your free copy now, exclusively for SmartBrief readers.   Trends    Shoppers plan to spend less this holiday season In a survey from America's Research Group, 28.4% of shoppers said plan to "somewhat" trim holiday spending because of rising food prices and 7.2% said they will "most definitely" spend less. To save money, 58.1% said they'll buy less expensive presents, and 26.1% said they will cut people from their gift lists. The Huffington Post/Reuters (11/1)      Coupon use gains for the fifth consecutive year Americans increased coupon use five years in a row, with 81% of shoppers using them, according to Valassis. Most consumers spend a half-hour or less clipping coupons each week, don't bother with coupons of less than 40 cents and seek coupons for brands they already know. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (11/1)      Uncover the 4 steps of competitive intelligence gathering with social media. This e-book will map out practical ways to use social media and explain why strategic social media engagement and listening, about your own brand as well as the competition's brand, will give you and your company the competitive edge. Download it now.   Advertising & Marketing    Unilever launches more brands in the U.K. Unilever UK is teaming with Start Licensing to expand its offerings. "Colman's Mustard, Hellmann's and PG Tips are all iconic household names which provide a good basis upon which we can build a strong licensing program," said a Start executive. LicenseMag.com (11/2)      Get the Information That Leads to Higher Sales Learn how a 0.1 percent increase in employee engagement generated more than $100,000 in one store's income when you download the white paper HR and Payroll - Achieving Accountability, Transparency in Retail. A unified HR and payroll system gives you high-quality data you can use to serve customers better.   Retail Spotlight    Fresh Market taps AccessVia for shelf-tag printing The Fresh Market is using a publishing platform from AccessVia to print shelf-edge labels. The system uses Retalix software to manage daily price changes that are printed directly on tags, allowing "real-time delivery of label and template changes from one, central source," said a Fresh Market executive. Progressive Grocer (11/1)      Logistics is much more than the movement of goods and services. It's also your pre-game strategy. Before you step on the court, you need the right players running the right plays at the right time. Learn more about those key plays in this free whitepaper from UPS and get in the game of logistics.   Sponsored Content    How To Hire Good Food Service People Hannah Howard Boost Your Business's Innovation Quotient Anita Campbell Tax Law Changes For 2012: What You Need To Know Barbara Weltman Small Business Snapshot: VCs Struggle To Fund Too Many Young Cos Katie Morell Losing Control Is Complexity's Greatest Risk John Mariotti   Health & Wellness    Unprocessed chicken is on the plate at Chicago Public Schools Cafeterias at 473 Chicago Public Schools catered by Chartwells-Thompson will serve chicken raised without antibiotics on Amish farms. The company plans to buy about 1.2 million pounds of the unprocessed chicken, about half from Miller Amish Country Poultry in Indiana, for school lunches. Chicago Tribune (11/1)      Red wine compound is linked to metabolism benefits in men Obese men given a daily dose of red wine compound resveratrol during a study experienced improved metabolism, lower blood pressure and lower blood sugar. "We have shown for the first time that resveratrol works in humans," said the study's lead author. "It opens the avenue for more research to see if it could be helpful in people with type 2 diabetes." USA TODAY/HealthDay News (11/1)        Business Credit Reports and Scores – Free Trial • Choose appropriate suppliers and prospects • Gain better insight into your portfolio • Manage risk while optimizing business with profitable customers Receive 30-day free trial access to our essential business credit management tools and our Business Benchmark Report for insight on the health of US businesses.   GMA News  ONLY ONE DAY LEFT! Register for the nutrition labeling webinar today Late in 2011, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to publish an extensive proposed rule that would reform the Nutrition Facts label and related rules including: Propose new Daily Values Require additional nutrient declarations Make some currently required declarations voluntary Make adjustments to nutrition label formats Regulate some nutrition-related claims Tomorrow, Nov. 3, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT, join GMA experts for the Get Smart: What's Coming in Nutrition Labeling webinar to hear an outline of the anticipated scope of this rulemaking in order to prepare food companies for the coming changes that are likely to affect all food labels. Keep your company prepared by registering for this informative webinar before time runs out.      Learn more about GMA -> About GMA  |  Issues and Policy  |  Newsroom  |  Events  |  Research and Tools   Government & Food Safety  FDA begins salmonella tests on pet food The FDA is testing pet food for salmonella because of concern that it is making pet owners ill. Salmonella can sicken pets, and owners put themselves at risk "by putting objects or fingers contaminated with these germs into the mouth," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (11/2)      Other News California moves forward on toxic chemical list The Sacramento Bee (Calif.) (free registration) (11/1)      U.S. applauds Japan's review of meat-import rules CNBC/Reuters (11/1)      Position Title Company Name Location Category Analyst Johnsonville Sausage Sheboygan Falls, WI Regulatory Coordinator Baldwin Richardson Food Co. Macedon, NY Human Resources Generalist Grocery Manufacturers Association Washington, DC Click here to view more job listings.   SmartQuote  The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men." --George Eliot, British writer          This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers@gmail.com   Subscriber Tools       Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Advertise Associate Publisher, Food Service:  Chris Warne (212) 450-7970 Download Media Kit Job Board:  Jackie Basso (202) 407-7871   Read more at SmartBrief.com A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including: Industry Home Readers' Choice Search Archive Who's Hiring? 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