October 1, 2003

Senators try to block butter stock sales.... Dairy processors get involved in fight against breast cancer.... New milk processor in Missouri finds niche.... UC-Davis scientists develop new uses for whey.... Ingles Markets launches loyalty card program.... Safeway's Chicago unit still on block.... Labor Issues.... Odds-and-Ends...Stock Market Ticker...More news at www.idfa.org.

DAIRY BUSINESS BRIEFS

A group of senators is trying to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture's sale of 11 million pounds of butter stock on the already stressed dairy market. The 16 senators sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, urging the government to donate the butter stocks to food pantries instead of making a sale that could further depress low dairy industry prices. Butter prices are currently $1.16 per pound, slightly better than last year's $0.94 per pound, but still low. The letter was signed by Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Jim Jeffords, I-Vt.; Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Herbert Kohl, D-Wis.; Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; John Breaux, D-La.; Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; Norm Coleman, R-Minn.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Mark Dayton, D-Minn.; Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.; John Kerry, D-Mass.; Mary Landrieu, D-La.; Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. Producer group National Farmers Union wrote Veneman a similar plea to halt the sale. (Associated Press)

In October, dairy processors are showing support for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream program is expected to raise up to $250,000 for the City of Hope, a breast cancer research and treatment center. Dreyer's and Edy's Grand Light, No Sugar Added, Frozen Yogurt and Sherbet cartons will feature a pink ribbon, the universal symbol of breast cancer awareness, through the end of October. Dreyer's will contribute $1.00 for every pink ribbon consumers clip and send in by November 30, 2003 (up to a maximum total donation of $250,000, including the initial Dreyer's donation of $50,000). The General Mills Yoplait yogurt brand is once again undertaking its "Save Lids to Save Lives" campaign. General Mills will donate $0.10 (up to $1.2 million) to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for every lid mailed in by consumers. By meeting this year's goal, Yoplait, parent company General Mills and its foundation will have donated more than $12 million to the breast cancer cause over the past six years. Yoplait, the Komen foundation and SELF magazine have additionally teamed up to honor 25 Yoplait Champions -- 25 ordinary women and men doing extraordinary things in their local communities to help in the fight against breast cancer. Yoplait will donate $1,000 to each Champion's breast cancer charity of choice.

After four months in business, Shatto Milk Co. is attracting a devoted regional following in the Kansas City market with its glass-bottled milk. Distribution includes 18 stores in the region, including Hy-Vee. The Shatto headquarters and farm near Osborne, Mo., also sells milk from its farm store. The farm supplies the milk for the venture, which is headed by Leroy Shatto, CEO. The dairy opened the bottling facility as a last effort to save the family farm; it previously sold its milk to Dairy Farmers of America. Shatto milk reaches grocery stores the same day the cow is milked and is available in whole, lowfat 2% and fat-free fat contents and in white, chocolate and strawberry flavors. (St. Joseph News-Press, Osborn, Mo.)

University of California-Davis scientists have developed three new uses for whey which could be implemented in 2004. The new applications utilize whey as an oxygen barrier on food to help extend the shelf-life of products such as peanuts, as a candy coating that is an alternative to food-grade shellac, and as an oxygen barrier for plastic coatings. Three additional potential applications of whey are also being investigated at the lab: moisture barriers for food, anti-microbial coatings on cheese, and edible or biodegradable films and containers. (AScribe Newswire)

CUSTOMER CLIPS

Asheville, N.C.-based Ingles Markets Inc. has launched its new Ingles Advantage loyalty card program. Card members are entitled to discounts throughout the store and are entered automatically in Ingles giveaways with prizes ranging from turkeys to cars. Additional benefits of the card include school equipment fundraising and participation in the Upromise college savings program. Ingles operates supermarkets in six southeastern states.

After nearly a year, the Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway supermarket unit, Dominick's Finer Foods, in Chicago remains on the sale block. Industry experts predict a buyer will eventually be found due to good store locations and its No. 2 Chicagoland marketshare behind Albertsons-owned Jewel. (Daily Herald-Arlington Heights, Ill.)

LABOR ISSUES

The 10,000 United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655 members rejected a proposed contract with St. Louis supermarket chains Schnuck Markets Inc., Dierbergs Markets and Shop 'n Save in the St. Louis area this week. The vote tally found 3,610 votes against and 1,991 in favor of the contract. A strike vote will be held Oct. 7; two-thirds of those voting must approve the strike measure for workers to walk off the job. If the strike vote is not approved, the contract will take effect. (Associated Press)

More than 70,000 union supermarket clerks at several major California chains may strike next month because their union contract expires on Oct. 5. Supermarket chains impacted include Safeway Inc.'s Vons and Pavilions, The Kroger Co.'s Ralphs and Albertsons Inc. stores. The clerks, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, are protesting a proposal to increase out-of-pocket costs for health insurance and to freeze wages. Union cashiers currently make up to $17.90 per hour, have a guaranteed pension and get company-paid family healthcare. To address rising healthcare costs, the supermarkets want to freeze wages for existing employees and set a $14.90 per hour pay cap for new hires. (Los Angeles Times, City News Service)

WestFarm Teamsters Local 66 workers continue to strike, and have moved into a consumer education mode. Teamsters report that they are asking shoppers at 11 Top Food stores in the Seattle metropolitan area to boycott the Seattle company's Darigold dairy products. When contract negotiations with Local 66 union workers at the company's Seattle and Issaquah, Wash., facilities broke down Labor Day weekend, WestFarm locked out 200 workers. The contract expired July 31.

IDFA NEWS

Register Now for IDFA Biosecurity Briefing on November 20
As part of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later this month will be releasing extensive regulations for the food industry that will need to be implemented by December 12. IDFA has scheduled a new program, Hot Topics: IDFA's Biosecurity Briefing, on November 20 in Washington, D.C., to explain what dairy processors need to do to insure compliance with these new biosecurity regulations. Specifically, the one-day briefing will focus on new regulations regarding food facility registration and prior notice of food imports. The program will include a demonstration of IDFA's new online service to help the dairy and food industries comply with the facility registration provision. For complete agenda and registration information, click here. http://www.idfa.org/meetings/2003biosecuritybriefing.cfm

ODDS-AND-ENDS

Green Bay, Wis.-based Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream will help consumers cut carbohydrates with its introduction of Breyers® CarbSmart™ ice cream (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) and Klondike® CarbSmart™ frozen novelties. Products are sweetened with Splenda®.... Antimicrobial extracts from basil are part of an experiment to develop a plastic wrap for cheese and meat that will better protect product from contamination. Tests show that basil keeps harmful bacteria such as listeria away from Cheddar cheese a week longer than traditional packaging. Compounds active against eight different types of bacteria are extracted from the basil plant and used in the wrap. (Better Nutrition magazine, PRIMEDIA).... A glass of milk every morning was said to be the key to longevity for a 114-year-old Japanese man who died in his sleep at his home in Japan on Sept. 28; the late Yukichi Chuganji was the world's oldest man, according to the Guinness Book of Records. (United Press International)

STOCK MARKET TICKER

As of 09/30/03, market close.

Company/Symbol		Last Trade		Change over Previous Close		Change over Last Week's D-brief
ConAgra Foods/CAG Dean Foods/DF Dreyer's/DRYR General Mills/GIS Groupe Danone/DA Hershey Foods/HSY Horizon Organic/HCOW Ingles Markets/IMKTA Kraft Foods/KFT Kroger/KR Ruddick Corp./RDK Safeway/SWY Saputo/SAP.TO SuperValu/SVU Unilever PLC/UL Weis Markets/WMK Wimm Bill Dann/WBD Winn-Dixie/WIN		21.24 31.03 77.76 47.07 30.52 72.68 23.91 09.80 29.50 17.87 15.54 22.94 26.55 23.86 34.64 34.01 19.22 09.65		-0.16 +0.18 +0.02 +0.51 +0.27 -0.22 -0.04 -0.05 -0.18 -0.04 -0.41 -0.02 +0.70 -0.03 -0.56 -0.39 +0.57 +0.12		-0.60 +0.88 +0.23 -0.43 +0.57 -0.80 -0.03 -0.20 +0.10 -0.65 -0.40 -1.28 +0.35 -1.06 -0.43 -1.84 +0.12 -0.60
Source: Yahoo! Finance

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