Food Roundup: KFC Chicken Has Too Much Beef, Smithfield Has Too Many Pigs, and More
El Pollo Loco targets KFC over beef -- KFC's new grilled chicken uses a marinade that contains more than 20 ingredients, including beef flavoring, El Pollo Loco wants the world to know. KFC says this is perfectly normal, but El Pollo Loco is using the revelation as yet another opportunity to ridicule its new competitor in the grilled chicken market. [Sources: Los Angeles Times, Daily Bread, BNET Food]
Smithfield Foods to cut hog supply -- High feed prices and China's swine flu-related ban on pork imports hit Smithfield's earnings, and the company's CEO says the industry needs to reduce production by 10 percent to get prices back up. The company itself is cutting back an additional 3 percent on its herds. Although swine flu cannot be caught from eating pork, the outbreak of the virus led many countries to ban pork imports or, in the case of Egypt, even slaughter all of their pigs. Pressure to use the name "H1N1" instead of "swine flu" did not seem to help the problem. [Sources: Wall Street Journal, BNET Food]
Dean Foods agrees to buy Alpro -- Dean Foods signed an agreement to purchase the Alpro division of Vandemoortele NV in Belgium, which deals with soy-based food and drink products. Dean's main focus is dairy and soy products, including the Silk brand of soy milk. "We think this is a great deal that establishes Dean Foods as a clear global leader in the attractive soy beverages and related products category," CEO Gregg Engles said. [Sources: Wall Street Journal, Food Business Review]
No pasta for Papa John's -- The pizza chain is opting not to follow its rivals into the pasta and sandwich markets. Pizza Hut and Domino's have been expanding their offerings, and Papa John's -- the country's third-largest pizza chain -- tested its own similar products, but in the end it's decided to stick with pizza. Papa John's does offer chicken wings and other items, but expanding the menu further might affect the quality of the pizza, CEO John Schnatter told AP. [Source: AP]
'Meat-Free Mondays' gains UK celebrity support -- Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono added their support to the Meat-Free Monday campaign, which urges people to go vegetarian at least one day a week. Research has shown that meat production contributes disproportionately to greenhouse gasses. McCartney officially launched a website this week in the UK, but the movement has already been growing in the U.S. [Sources: Grist, PRNewswire]