Potato News from Northern America

The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board and the Honourable David Emerson, Minister of International Trade today welcomed the conclusion of an arrangement to facilitate bilateral trade i...

After years of losses, it seemed Ubiquity subsidiary Jays Foods Inc., was poised to at least break even, and possibly even turn a modest profit. In the first six months of this year, losses were cut 50 percent compared with the losses in the first h...

Potential buyers for Wendy's International Inc. (WEN) have a Nov. 12 deadline to submit bids for the hamburger chain, but a shaky financing package assembled by Wendy's banks could throw a wrench in the auction and lead to lower offers. Wendy's lende...

Popcorn Workers Lung victims involved in a class action lawsuit got some good news from a New York appeals court yesterday. The court ruled that if the former Missouri popcorn plant workers successfully prove their claims that diacetyl exposure cause...

The company said profit was $3.08 billion, or 92 cents a share, in the first quarter compared with $2.70 billion, or 79 cents a share, a year earlier. P&G plans to push further into health and beauty products, which generate higher margins than th...

Obesity rates did not rise last year for the first time in 25 years, a study has said, but are still too high and will continue to dominate public health agenda. The findings for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that while 34 p...

Procter &Gamble's (PG) first-quarter profit rose 14%, but the consumer-products giant said it is seeing some slowdown in the U.S. market as consumers pull back amid high energy costs and the housing downturn.   Sales for Procter's snacks, coffee an...

With the snip of a pair of scissors, Frito-Lay's Topeka facility officially expands. The 40,000-square-foot addition houses the company's new SunChips production line. Regional Vice President Mark Brinker is excited about the opening. "It's a sig...

US ingredient giant Cargill is expanding its line of high oleic canola products, on the back of customer demand for oils and shortenings with no trans fat and low levels of saturated fat.Cargill has changed the brand name of its TransEnd all-purpose s...

Following the approval of its acquisition of rival Wild Oats, Whole Foods Market has become the single most important natural food retailer in North America. The growing power of this 'supernatural' retailer is expected to consolidate supply chains of...

A few years ago it looked as though the odd crumbling monument in hick, southern towns would be all that remained of the fast-food industry. The obesity epidemic, class-action lawsuits and the stomach-churning revelations in Eric Schlosser’s book Fast...

There’s no telling how many calories the restaurant industry has expended running away from New York’s pioneering attempt to improve the city’s health by requiring chain eateries to prominently display calorie information. Fortunately, the city health...

Twin City Foods Inc., Washington's largest vegetable packer, has shed its potato-processing division as a response to increasing consolidation in the industry. On Oct. 19, the Stanwood-based company formally stopped turning potatoes into french fries a...

Wendy's International Inc., the U.S. hamburger chain that's been seeking a buyer since April, said its proposed sale has been delayed because of turmoil in credit markets and added that it may give an update on the process soon. ``We acknowledge that ...

Wendy's reported its third-quarter earnings fell 57 percent from a year ago, before it spun off the Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut chain. But its results easily beat Wall Street estimates, helped by improving margins and cost controls. Sales at store...

Jays Foods Inc., which has filed for bankruptcy protection, may close its facilities in Butler, DePere and Silver Lake in December and the closings could be permanent if a buyer isn't found for the snack food maker. Chicago-based Jays Foods, maker of...

The deal: The value of the state's potato crop hit a record $562 million last year and could beat that record for the just-harvested 2007 crop. This year and last, the state's potato growers seem to be hitting the marks perfectly in terms of global ...

Frito-Lay's new Flat Earth fruit and vegetable chips have not generated the sales the company had hoped for, PepsiCo Inc.'s North America CEO John Compton told The Associated Press two weeks ago.   The Flat Earth line of products, released in America ...