Happy Food Week. There are shortages of avocados, truckers, seafood and Big Macs. There is no shortage of ethanol, avian influenza and empty pop bottles. Plus a bonus link to an article on sustainability and the role of retailers. Enjoy!
MACRO
- Nervousness over Russia’s intentions in re Ukraine; markets skittish.
- Avian Influenza – a cousin of SARS-COVID – back in the US. See below.
- But COVID itself seems to be in retreat.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- The demand for climate-friendly products has pressured food manufacturers and now retailers to ramp up their sustainability game. A contribution from Guest Editor Julia Gallo-Torres.
- The Family Dollar distribution center in West Memphis has a severe rodent problem.
- The return of the re-fillable soda bottle?
- Alt-protein growth seems to have plateaued. How much of that can be attributed to COVID? How the pandemic scrambled the plant-based food industry.
- Ahold Delhaize sees slower growth in 2022.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Chicken Big Mac killing it in UK. So much so, they are putting it on pause.
- Speaking of new McDonald’ s items: they are also taking a run at Taco Bell.
- A blog that has been reviewing all you can eat buffets for years on end.
- More restaurants raising prices, this time Shake Shack.
- More than 100 Starbucks are now unionized.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- The trucker shortage is intensifying but I think what this story misses is that for truckers – like fast food workers – has been stagnant for years and now a tight labor market means people have a choice of occupations.
- People want more seafood. It is getting harder to supply. As a result, it is about to get much more expensive.
- Avian Influenza is actually endemic – not like the way people throw around the term for COVID – so it does crop up periodically. Other countries are temporarily banning Indiana poultry after outbreak on turkey farm.
- One weird take from Food Week February 14 was that the avocado trade suspension Super Bowl Sunday would somehow affect parties. Avocados have serious complications, deforestation and drug cartels included. But I can assure you that this had no impact on SB parties. They aren’t that perishable.
FOOD WEEK LAGNIAPPE
- Ending ethanol subsidies will cause a profound shift in corn production in this country. But it should make food cheaper.
- I never heard of a peanut butter fruit tree – now I know how to grow one.
- Liquor.com is consistently good but they get one wrong here: It is, at present next to impossible to find pasteurized shell eggs in retail. In other words, almost all eggs are not pasteurized. Liquid eggs are pasteurized but have off flavors, due to preservatives. Finally the ‘1 in 30,000’ quote is both wrong misleading. FDA puts the number at 1 in 20K but the real issue is cross-contamination. One egg with salmonella can infect a whole bar if cracked or mishandled.