Specialty Food & Beverage News

Trader Joe’s confirms store opening in Albany area
The Business Review by Michael DeMasi, Reporter, Friday, January 6, 2012 - Trader Joe's will open a store on Wolf Road in Colonie, New York, the company said today — the first location in the Albany area for the popular specialty grocery chain.

Sratoga company dives into crowded bottled-water market
The Business Review by Robin K. Cooper, Reporter, Friday, December 23, 2011 - The founder of Element caffeinated water in Saratoga Springs expects to sell 30,000 cases of the beverage in 2012 as he negotiates more deals with retailers to carry the product.

Organic Trend is Catching Up to Hard Liquor
North Jersey.com, Tuesday December 13, 2011 - The organic movement has hit the bar. "People are eating organically," says Warren Bobrow of cocktailwhisperer.com. "People want to eat well. They want to know about the provenance of every piece of lettuce that goes in their mouth. They want to know where their cheeses come from. They want to know where their meats are raised. Why should what they drink be any less important?"

Food Safety Eclipses Rising Food Costs as Top Food Story of 2011
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Dec 8, 2011) - Food safety tops the list of an annual survey asking Americans to choose the most significant food story of 2011. Even in a year when global food prices hit record highs and both restaurant menus and retail food labels got a new look, the safety of the American food supply dominated the headlines and consumers took notice.Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Tops List in Annual Survey Commissioned by Hunter Public Relations.

Performance Food Group First in U.S. to Use DNA-based Meat Traceability System for Hamburger
Richmond, Va., and Lawrence, Kan., Nov. 30, 2011 - Performance Food Group (also known as PERFORMANCE Foodservice) one of the nation's largest foodservice distributors, and Kansas-based IdentiGEN, a leader in meat traceability systems, have developed the first commercial solution to trace ground meat back to its origins using DNA technology.

USDA Blog - Turkey FUNdamentals: Planning for Thanksgiving Okay, so it's your turn to host the annual Thanksgiving feast. Aunt Sara has been cooking turkeys for 40 years, and Cousin Rachel is a gourmet cook. Can you tackle a turkey without being traumatized?

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese brewers are making an aggressive push into premium beer, lured by high margins and huge growth potential, posing a tough challenge to the foreign companies that dominate the category in the world's largest beer market.

Got Scottish shortbread cookies? If not, call The Wee Bake Shoppe at Bridlewood for those tasty treats, 518-610-0692.
If you have not been there yet check out www.foodzie.com for specialty food and beverage items.

First annual report issued by FDA as part of Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) April 6, 2011
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm250569.htm

Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) has just posted for comments and input related to the National Leafy Green Management a voluntary program to increase consumer confidence in leafy green vegetables. Check out the link below for more information.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/leafygreensagreement

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

As many of you are well aware this legislation was signed into law in January of 2011. This link gives a short background and synopsis of major points of the law. If you look closely at the end of many items a time frame is given for the enactment of various aspects of the law.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm239907.htm

Make sure your local Farmers Market is listed in the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service database. Markets have until May 1 to get their listing in.