A parasite called cyclospora is causing consumers across the U.S. to suffer from Cyclosporiasis which manifests itself as "explosive diarrhea". On July 17 Federal health officials identified lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations across five U.S. states (which came from Taylor Farms of Salinas, California) as a source of the [...]

The shopping cart, long the most overlooked piece of equipment in the store, is becoming one of the most sophisticated. Driven by a category the industry has started calling "Physical AI," retailers are rolling out connected carts like Instacart's Caper Cart at speed. The pitch is straightforward: faster checkout, sharper promotions, fewer [...]

Food delivery apps are designed to make every listing feel like a distinct restaurant. In reality, many of those meals come from ghost kitchens—delivery-only operations running multiple brands out of the same space. If you care about transparency, quality, or simply knowing where your food is made, there are clear signals [...]

Key Takeaways Utilization is King: Plants at 85%+ utilization drive profit; those below 70% typically destroy value regardless of size. SKU Discipline: Rationalizing your portfolio can improve throughput by 15-25%. The Stability Premium: Stable demand patterns often deliver higher margins than high-volume promotional spikes. Fixed Cost Reality: 40-60% of manufacturing expenses [...]

For decades, U.S. nutrition policy has been marked by shifting priorities and conflicting public guidance. Changes in emphasis — from fats to carbohydrates, grains to sugars — have influenced product formulation, labeling, school meals, and consumer demand, often requiring costly industry adjustments with limited long-term clarity. The January 2026 release of the [...]

Collectively, the food industry represents one of the largest private employer block in the U.S. when grocery retail, foodservice, and food manufacturing are considered together. While employment is widely distributed across thousands of companies, labor scale is highly concentrated among a relatively small number of operators that anchor food production, distribution, and [...]