Food Business News - August 14, 2012 - 1

FOODBUSINESS NEWS
NEWS, MARKETS AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY

August 14, 2012

www.foodbusinessnews.net

Ralcorp consolidating segments in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS — The new center store private brand food business of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., will be headquartered in St. Louis and led by Richard R. Koulouris, currently corporate vice-president and president of Ralcorp Snacks, Sauces and Spreads. Details about the new business, the centerpiece of a Ralcorp reorganization ﬁrst announced Aug. 2, were shared by Kevin Hunt, president and chief executive ofﬁcer, in an Aug. 8 conference call. The call with investment analysts was made in connection with the company’s results for the third quarter ended June 30. The new business currently exists as three separate segments within Ralcorp, beginning with the company’s legacy Continued on Page 19

Condiments

dash
innovation
Story on Page 38

with a of

F.D.A. study on added sugars opposed
WASHINGTON — Groups from the baked foods, beverage, dairy and confectionery industries all oppose a proposed Food and Drug Administration plan to study how consumers would respond to the listing of “added sugars” on the Nutrition Facts Panel. In comments sent to the F.D.A., many of the groups focused on potential consumer confusion and how the F.D.A. legally may not be able to ﬁnd the amount of added sugars in foods and beverages. The F.D.A. in the May 31 Federal Register said it planned to explore Continued on Page 18

2012: A pivotal year for sweeteners
f anything, last week conﬁrmed 2012 will be a transitional year for U.S. sweetener markets as the sugar industry will face its ﬁrst surplus in ﬁve years and the corn sweetener industry will see lower-thanexpected supplies due to the devastating Midwest drought. And for users, while sugar buyers may enjoy the lowest prices since 2009, corn sweetener users may have some difﬁcult choices to make. Perhaps the most shocking, or at least

the most anticipated, data last week were the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Aug. 10 U.S. corn crop forecast of 10,779 million bus, down 17% from its July projection, down 13% from 2011 and the smallest crop since 10,531 million bus in 2006, if realized. The U.S.D.A. survey-based estimate compared with the average of pre-report trade expectations of 10,971 million bus. While the greatest impact of a small corn crop will be (or already has been) felt by livestock feeders, foreign buyers of corn and to some extent, ethanol producers (although the production mandate remains in effect) in the form of sharply higher prices, the sweetener industry also will be affected. Although only about 6%, on average, of the crop is used for corn sweetener production, the price increase may well be signiﬁcant especially as it relates to exports to Mexico where delivered prices for highfructose corn syrup are much closer to Continued on Page 26

http://www.foodbusinessnews.net

Food Business News - August 14, 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Business News - August 14, 2012