As a new week gets started, it's time to take a look back at last week's most popular stories in this edition of Food Manufacturing: Last Week In Review
1. Romaine Lettuce Outbreak Update: 98 People Sick In 22 States
A nasty strain of bacteria that can cause severe illness is what's driving a food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, health officials said Friday. The government now has reports of 98 people who got sick in 22 states. Forty-six people have been hospitalized, including 10 with kidney failure, which is an unusually high number of hospitalizations. The outbreak has been blamed on E. coli bacteria in romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona. While most E. coli bacteria are not harmful, some produce toxins that can cause severe illness.
2. Yogurt Factory To Close, Lay Off 147 Workers
Nearly 150 people are expected to lose their jobs when a Connecticut yogurt factory closes next year. Danone North America filed notice last week that it's closing the YoCrunch complex in Naugatuck next March.
3. Bacardi Completes Acquisition Of Patron
The transaction, which was announced in late January, closed last week and follows a successful relationship the two companies have had since Bacardi’s initial acquisition of a 30 percent minority stake in Patrón Spirits in 2008.
4. Kellogg Says Its Frozen Foods Are Hot With Millennials
Kellogg, known for Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops cereals, says millennials are hot for its frozen foods, helping boost the company's sales. Sales of Eggo waffles and MorningStar Farms veggie burgers, both in the frozen foods aisle, jumped more than 10 percent during the first three months of the year, Kellogg said late last week.
5. Maple, Honey Producers Not Sweet On Added Sugars Label
Producers of pure maple syrup and honey aren't sweet on a plan to label their pure natural products as containing added sugars. They say the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's upcoming requirement to update nutrition labels to tell consumers that pure maple syrup and honey contain added sugars is misleading, illogical and confusing and could hurt their industries.
6. Pinnacle Foods Inc. Recalls 32,000 Pounds Of Beef Products
Pinnacle Foods Inc., a Fort Madison, Iowa establishment, is recalling 32,479 pounds of heat-treated, shelf stable beef products due to a possible processing deviation that may have led to staphylococcal enterotoxin and clostridial toxin contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced.
7. Molson Coors Shares Have Worst Day In 13 Years
Shares of Molson Coors took their worst beating in more than a decade, posting a near-5 percent drop in sales as the U.S. beer industry struggles to get the taps flowing. CEO Mark Hunter tried to soothe investors, pointing out that the first quarter is typically its weakest. He also blamed poor weather.
8. Van's Foods Recalls Gluten-Free Waffles Distributed In 11 States
Van's Foods announced it is voluntarily recalling approximately 1,584 cases of Van's Gluten Free Waffles. The products were distributed solely to food retailers in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
9. It Ain't Tea, Babe: Bob Dylan Embraces Tennessee Whiskey
Music icon Bob Dylan is partnering with a distillery to make whiskey at a 140-year-old Tennessee church and bottle it under the name Heaven's Door. News outlets report Dylan has partnered with Angel's Envy Bourbon co-founder Marc Bushala in the venture.
10. Tyson Ventures Announces Investment In Future Meat Technologies
Future Meat Technologies has announced a $2.2 million seed investment round co-led by Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods. Future Meat Technologies is a Jerusalem-based biotechnology company advancing a distributive manufacturing platform for the cost-efficient, non-GMO production of meat directly from animal cells, without the need to raise or harvest animals.