Top Stories for 5/17/13

U.S. growers will shift from corn to soybeans due to unseasonal rains and snow, a senior U.S. industry official stated. "The time for planting corn is running out and the crop will lose acreage to soybeans," John Lindblom, U.S. Soybean Export Council's regional director for Southeast Asia, told Dow Jones Newswires ahead of an international grains conference in Bali early next week. Most corn in the U.S. has to be planted by the end of May to ensure pollination before temperatures rise in summer and timely harvest before the winter frost sets in, he added. Soybeans take less time to mature and can be planted even in July, Lindblom added, reports The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

The typical American eats more than 1,000 fresh-fruit, sweet and savory snacks throughout the year, with children and teenagers the prevalent consumers of this product assortment, according to The NPD Group. In addition, the research firm's "SnackTrack" found that on average, women eat 3.1 snack-oriented convenience foods daily; men eat an average of 2.7 snacks a day. Approximately eight of every 10 in-home snack food eatings are considered to be a snack-oriented convenience food versus other foods, regardless of time of day, reports Convenience Store News. Full Story

The produce industry is perfectly positioned to capitalize on many different trends in the retail industry, according to the co-chief executive officer of Whole Foods. By 2020, millennials will control about 30 percent of retail sales. For those millennials, technology is very important and changing the way they do business as well as the way they interact with the products they buy. While food and fresh produce presents some challengers for online merchants, the executive thinks the “click and collect” model that combines brick and mortar with the Internet may prove to be the best solution for food retailers, reports The Produce News. Full Story

Wine, beer and spirits makers that use social media must follow new federal guidelines. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's new rules declare that sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are essentially new forms of advertising. Companies that now advertise beverages on social networking sites, blogs, mobile applications and video-sharing sites like YouTube will have to include mandatory statements on their profile or brand pages and refrain from making prohibited statements, such as false health claims, reports The Press Democrat. Full Story

At least 17 birthday cake–flavored new products have hit the market over the past handful of years versus three the previous five years, reports research firm Datamonitor. Most have been ultra-hot sellers, with the exception of a birthday cake–flavored yogurt from Yoplait that was yanked only when Yoplait's entire Splitz line was discontinued this year. The trend is not just being driven by kids but also by nostalgic adults, claims Datamonitor's innovation insights director. Boomers, in particular, are enamored with birthday cake mania, reports USA Today. Full Story

Demand for asparagus has been increasing throughout the spring, but California farmers claim they have had problems meeting that demand. Growers stated the asparagus crop is smaller than anticipated this year. Early in the season, farmers held back on harvesting asparagus because there was little demand, but now farmers can't find enough workers to help harvest, sort and pack the crop, reports California Farm Bureau. Full Story

Ola! Foods, Norwalk, Conn., took home two awards at recently held 2013 CT Specialty Food Product Awards Competition. Ola! Foods took 1st and 2nd place in the Grains Category for two of its flavors: Cranberry Orange Pecan and Vanilla Almond. Ola! Foods will also be adding a fourth flavor, Chocolate Banana Chip, to its existing three flavors and will be included in the Gluten-Free rollout.

News Release

SunRidge Farms, Royal Oaks, Calif., has begun rolling out a new version of its branded resealable packaging for its organic and natural nuts, seeds, dried fruits, snacks, confections and granolas. The new bags feature brighter designs that are intended to make it easier for retailers to merchandise the products and for consumers to easily recognize their benefits. The new packaging is gradually being introduced, with it first being used for thirty of the company’s products.

News Release

More than 50 markets across Minnesota will accept Electronic Benefit Transfer cards this growing season—almost doubling the number that participated last year—enabling more Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants to purchase vegetables, fruits and other eligible products directly from their local farmers. The program expansion is due to collaboration by rural and urban farmers markets, the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. News Release

In the past 20 years, 91 studies and counting have linked numerous potential health benefits from walnuts in the areas of heart health, diabetes, weight management and cognitive function. In 2012, walnuts were the only nut to receive health claims from the EU. Walnuts received four: one specific to walnuts and blood flow, and three generic health claims, reports Western Farm Press. Full Story

Isabella Gourmet Foods opened for business in downtown Santa Barbara, Calif. East Coaster Amy Chalker was inspired by the New York–based, high-end grocery store chain Dean & DeLuca, and with only a small supply of each product, Chalker said her niche is quality rather than quantity. “We’re carrying 80 percent local and small-batch,” she says, adding that many of the products are relatively new on the market and still unknown, reports NoozHawk.com. Full Story

Sometimes a business idea comes organically. That's the case with Three Queens Organic, a new art gallery in Illinois' Oak Park Arts District, which grew out of two faraway happenings: a love for art developed in Europe, and a discovery of maple trees on a farm in Wisconsin. Besides local art, Oak Park resident Christine Fisher also sells organic maple syrup. She and her husband tapped for the first time last year and just began selling organic syrup a few weeks ago. Three Queens will also be selling it at the Oak Park Farmers Market, and visitors to the gallery can get a free tasting any time of one of the three varieties: amber, dark and very dark, reports Oak Park Patch. Full Story

Guests at Saturday's Preakness will get the first slurp of the Skinny Dipper, a new oyster from True Chesapeake Oyster Co., an oyster farm in Maryland's St. Mary's County. The Skinny Dipper will be supplied to Baltimore-area restaurants beginning this summer, but it will get some high-profile attention at Saturday's race, where it has been named the "preferred oyster of Preakness," reports The Baltimore Sun. Full Story

Di Bruno's in Philadelphia has been a jam-packed, 900-square-foot nook of cheese-and-salami bliss since 1939, a gem of South Philly authenticity that remains one of the priceless beating hearts of the Italian Market. But when third-generation cousins Emilio and William "Billy" Mignucci Jr. took the risk in 2000 to expand in a big way to a bi-level mega-store near Rittenhouse Square, it finally gave Philadelphia the vast gourmet retail palace it had been missing. The store's cheese counter, stocked with hundreds of rare (and often seriously pricey) craft cheeses from around the globe, has few rivals anywhere, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Full Story

Philadelphia's former Corn Exchange Building may become the city's next gourmet market. Architect David Schultz of DAS Architects came before the Philadelphia Historical Commission with revised plans to adapt the building into a three-story gourmet market. The effort includes installing a small roof deck on the northern half of the building, set some 70 feet back from the facade; altering the sidewalk from concrete to bluestone; adding a chiller to the roof; and adding a new elevator and ramp to meet accessibility requirements, reports PlanPhilly.com. Full Story

According to Tenaya Darlington, May will always be goat cheese weather. Walk into any cheese shop, and it's a petting zoo of pretty goodies: goat cheeses wrapped in leaves, rolled in flowers, molded into balls and bells. It's worth a stroll through Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market or your favorite cheese shop just to check out the Loire Valley bling—the most-prized French goat cheeses appear in spring, just after new pastures have been grazed, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Full Story