| GENERAL ISSUES |
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National Restaurant Association (NRA) has terminated all of the people in the Food Safety group
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The economy remains issue number one
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- What to do in tough times
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- Control Costs
- Drive Operational efficiencies
- Improve customer attraction, conversion and retention
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- How Pizza Hut is driving growth- Home Meal Replacements
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- All natural pizza, Home delivery pasta and wings
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| FOOD INDUSTRY ISSUES |
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The Salmonella issue tied to Peanut Corp of America (PCA) has increased the demand for change in the regulatory environment by political representatives and consumers.
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To date there have been over 4000 products recalled with close to 700 reported cases of Salmonella and 9 deaths |
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- The failure of auditing
- Nestle opted out of using PCA after their audit
- The State of Georgia House just approved a bill, which would make it a felony for any company or individual to fail to report the discovery of salmonella or other food-borne disease to state authorities.
- The bill will mandate, not request, state access to records regarding the destruction of food contamination such as salmonella, which could include salmonella testing and logs on the use of roasters. The bill also would demand that a company that finds salmonella notify the state within 24 hours.
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President Obama calls for reforms in the Food Safety system- Forming a Food Safety Working group |
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- Dr. Margaret Hamburg , former NYC health commissioner to be commissioner of the FDA
- Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore’s health commissioner to become the FDA principal deputy commissioner
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Recalls |
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- Retailers are exploring ways to notify their customers about recalls
- Recent recalls
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- Queso Fresco fresh cheese- Listeria Monocytogenes
- Alfalfa Sprouts- Salmonella
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Organisms of Consequence |
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- According to CDC Norwalk-like viruses account for two-thirds of known food poisoning cases
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State Departments of Health are releasing the results of their restaurant inspections on a regular basis. |
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- The results can usually be found on their website. This may be a good place to look for problems that can be solved using DayMark offerings as well as provide sales leads for restaurants/chains to be contacted.
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Traceability |
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- Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) of Muscle Cuts of Beef (Including Veal), Lamb, Chicken, Goat, and Pork; Ground Beef, Ground Lamb, Ground Chicken, Ground Goat, and Ground Pork for these products that are sold by a retailer went into effect March 20, 2009.
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Healthy Eating at Restaurants |
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- According to the National Restaurant Association, this year consumers are expected to spend nearly half of their food budget at restaurants. With more than a third of U.S. adults considered to be obese, finding healthy options can be a challenge.
- A new study released in the American Journal of Public Health suggests consumers rarely read nutritional information provided by fast food restaurants before they order.
- To help fight obesity in our country, researchers say the observational study suggests calorie information should be displayed in plain view on menus.
- It has been nearly a year since New York City enacted the first law requiring major chains to post calories on menus, boards, and food labels. Opinions are still varied on this topic.
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Casual-dining industry has to fend off new, formidable competition: fast-food chains. |
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- This month Carl's Jr. is launching its Kentucky Bourbon Burger, the kind of product one would expect to see on an Applebee's menu.
- As consumers increasingly trade down to fast food, several players, such as Wendy's and McDonald's, are working to cement their status as value options.
- Others are going the other way entirely, marketing higher-end offerings designed to lure the Cheesecake Factory and T.G.I. Friday's faithful.
- Burger King will begin selling ribs and thicker burgers this summer as a means to attract families to grab dinner on the go.
- Andy Puzder, CEO of Hardee's and Carl's Jr. parent CKE Restaurants, said people already know fast-food brands are cheap. The way to distinguish yourself is by advertising quality.
- Health magazine recently named Panera Bread the healthiest restaurant in the country in the fast food restaurant category.
- More diners in a wide range of restaurants are asking to split not only appetizers and desserts, but even entrees. It's a hassle for chefs to divvy up certain dishes, but it could help restaurants bring in people who would otherwise stay home.
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| Prepared by G&L Consulting Group, LLC, 479.696.8189, glades@cox.net |
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