Vermont Sets the Standard
Montpelier — General Mills’ announcement on Friday that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food companies might be giving up the fight against labels, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution. Tiny Vermont is the first state to require such labeling, effective July 1. Its fellow New England states of Maine and Connecticut have passed...
Report: Rail Safety Failing
Washington — Federal regulators are failing to refer serious safety violations involving freight rail shipments of crude oil and other hazardous cargo for criminal prosecution, and are going lightly on civil fines, according to a report released Friday by a government watchdog. The Federal Railroad Administration routinely applies only modest civil penalties for hazardous materials safety violations, even though inspectors request...
Baking Bust Hits Pillsbury, General Mills
Minneapolis — For 95 years, Betty Crocker’s official portrait has radiated cooking confidence. She might sprout worry lines if she were contemplating General Mills’ baking business. Sales of Betty Crocker baking mixes, a classic General Mills offering, have been in the dumps for over two years. Another major part of the General Mills baking business, its Pillsbury refrigerated dough line, has experienced weakness, too. Indeed, the...
Big Food Adapts to Changing Tastes
Minneapolis — Grocery store favorites like Betty Crocker and Hamburger Helper are hurting. Cheerios, still the nation’s No. 1 cereal brand, needs some help. Customers are eating more fresh produce and meats, more and more often bypassing the center aisles where Big Food companies like Golden Valley-based General Mills reign. They also are turning to products from newer companies, which are having an easier time finding a niche in the...
Suit: Protein Cheerios Misleads Consumers
Macho men and women, beware. General Mills, the maker of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Fiber One, and Cheerios, has a clever new trick, according to a lawsuit brought against the company last week by consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The suit alleges that the cereal maker has been selling a new product called Protein Cheerios, which the company first introduced last year, under false pretenses....
