Food Nutrition & Science: Holiday Food Prices Will Continue to Rise

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- This Thanksgiving wholesale turkey prices were up 33 percent over last year and according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, consumers can expect the increase in holiday-type food to continue through January, according to an article in this month's edition of Food Nutrition &Science.

According to the article, items contributing to this year's increase in prices include whole milk, which increased in price per gallon to $3.24 (up 38 cents), two nine-inch pie shells (up 12 cents to $2.46), 1/2 pint of whipping cream (up 15 cents to $1.70), three pounds of sweet potatoes (up 7 cents to $3.19), a one-pound relish tray of carrots and celery (up 5 cents to 77 cents) and a dozen brown-n-serve rolls (up 4 cents to $2.12).

"Wholesale prices have been increasing since spring but retailers were reluctant to pass the prices on to the consumer until the election happened," says Phil Lempert, founder of Food Nutrition & Science and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com.  "Now we see prices advancing and we should expect that to continue. I estimate that by year end prices will be up 4.5 to 5.5 percent over last year, and it will continue to climb thru mid-January."

With more than 26,000 subscribers that are mostly retailers, Food Nutrition & Science is a free monthly newsletter with articles relating to retailers, manufacturers, farmers, nutritionists, educators, government agencies and more. It's also a newsletter that services members of the National Grocer Association and offers breaking food news and articles on food safety and industry-wide green initiatives.

In addition to the article on holiday food prices, this month's publication also features survey results from Catalina Marketing that reveals 66 percent of grocery shoppers are looking for ways to improve their health and wellness, but just half of shoppers feel that their local stores promote healthy living and even less believe the employees at the store can provide adequate information on nutrition. The study with selected shoppers was designed to uncover what shoppers really want and how to design programs that best align with their needs.

"These results are so interesting and provide an opportunity for supermarkets," says Lempert. "The Catalina study provides guidance on how supermarket operators and product marketers can best help their shoppers make healthy choices in nutrition and lifestyle management.  Shoppers want more from their stores and supermarket employees are uniquely positioned to help while increasing stores sales and improving customer loyalty."

Another article in this issue of Food Nutrition & Science details the challenges of providing disease control for organic crops and provides information on how farmers actually do it -- including using insects and naturally occurring soil dwelling bacterium.

Other articles include an interview with Shazi Visram, founder and CEO of HAPPYBABY, an interview with Habit Wine's Creator Jeff Fischer and an article on processed foods that explains the true definition of "processed."

According the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation, consumers typically consider processed foods as snack foods, sweets and carbonated beverages. However, even raw foods that have been washed, chopped, dehydrated or pasteurized -- even ground nuts and coffee beans -- are considered to be processed foods as there is a deliberate change in the food occurring between the point of origin and the product's availability for consumption.

According to Lempert, Food Nutrition & Science is committed to covering topics and trends that interest anyone with a stake in the food industry including supermarket retailers, food manufacturers and consumers.

For more information or to subscribe to Food Nutrition &Science, please visit www.FoodNutritionScience.com.

About Food Nutrition &Science

With more than 26,000 readers, Food Nutrition &Science from The Lempert Report is the only monthly newsletter that provides readers analysis and offers discussions on all issues relating to the food industry. Founded by food industry analyst and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com Phil Lempert, Food Nutrition &Science was created so that all industry players could communicate about the safest, most efficient and healthiest way to get food to our plates. For more information or to subscribe to Food Nutrition &Science, please visit www.FoodNutritionScience.com.

SOURCE Food Nutrition & Science