The majority of Mexican limes produced in Mexico come from the states of Guerrero, Colima, Oaxaca, Michoacán, Jalisco, Tabasco and Veracruz. The two popular varieties of limes grown in Mexico are the Mexican or Key lime and the Persian lime.
The state of Michoacán is the leading Key lime producer in Mexico, followed by Colima and Oaxaca. Michoacán has a winter production window (December to February) that allows key limes to enter the domestic market first. Persian limes are grown in northern Veracruz, with smaller scale production in Chiapas, Tabasco, Oaxaca, Puebla, Jalisco, and Yucatan.  Click here to read the full article. 

The catering industry has been warned to expect further rises in inflation in 2022, as factors including rising energy costs and unstable global supply continue to have a direct impact on prices right across the foodservice industry. That’s according to the latest edition of the Foodservice Price Index from CGA by NielsenIQ and Prestige Purchasing.
Foodservice prices in April were 10% higher than in April 2021 – a third month of double-digit inflation in a row. This analysis suggests volatility in supply and costs could fuel high food and drink prices for some time.
The report also predicts that further rises in inflation are possible in 2022, and that the rate is unlikely to fall below 7% until at least 2023. Click here to read the full article. 

Improving food safety will include using better data, according to the deputy commissioner for food policy and response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Frank Yiannas was speaking at a Health Talks webinar on digitalization, food safety and trade with other panelists from Ghana, India and Ireland.
“The world around us is changing rapidly. Part of this rapid change is that data and information have become digitized and can be shared at the speed of thought. And new and emerging technologies are increasingly taking big and real-time data and putting it to good use,” he said.  Click here to read the full article.

May CPI data shows inflation rose 8.6% in the latest 12 months, its fastest in 40 years, extinguishing hopes inflation had reached its peak.

May inflation increased rapidly past expectations, tarnishing market hopes that inflation had peaked and re-upping fears that the U.S. economy could be nearing yet another recession.
Prices for shelter, gas and food all rose in May following an April decline, with overall inflation rising 8.6% over a 12-month period before seasonal adjustment, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This represents the fastest annual increase in over 40 years. Click here to read the full article from the Restaurant Dive. 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is still spreading across the U.S., with recent detections in a petting zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a backyard flock in Yakima, Washington, according to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). HPAI has been confirmed in 372 commercial and backyard flocks in 36 states, affecting more than 40 million birds as of Wednesday, data from the agency shows.
Still, the virus is showing signs of ebbing, with Michigan recently lifting a statewide ban on poultry and waterfowl exhibitions after 30 days with no new cases in domestic birds. The state had halted bird shows in May as a precautionary measure to curtail the spread of the virus among poultry flocks.
“Even though the state has been able to reach this incredibly important benchmark, this does not mean the virus has left Michigan,” state veterinarian Nora Wineland said Monday in a statement. “HPAI continues to be detected in wild birds throughout the state.”
The Canadian province of Prince Edward Island is nixing poultry shows this summer in a bid to prevent the spread of HPAI, according to a local news report. The virus has not been detected in any commercial flocks, but has infected wild birds in the province, the Island Farmer reported.

Kellogg announced Tuesday that it plans to separate into three independent public companies, sectioning off its iconic brands into distinct snacking, cereal and plant-based businesses. 
Shares of the company rose 6.5% in premarket trading on the announcement.
“These businesses all have significant standalone potential, and an enhanced focus will enable them to better direct their resources toward their distinct strategic priorities,” CEO Steve Cahillane said in a statement. Click here to read the full article. 

​Foster Farms enters a new era of ownership with a familiar face in leadership and an array of opportunities and challenges on the horizon.
The Livingston, Calif.-based poultry company announced yesterday that it had been sold to Greenwich, Conn.-based Atlas Holdings for an undisclosed amount. Rumors had been circulating last fall that Foster Farms' family ownership was exploring a sale, but nothing further was heard until the companies announced that the Atlas deal had closed. 

Consumer inflation rose 8.6% in May from a year ago, marketing the fastest increase in prices since December 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Month-over-month, CPI was up 1% in May. Food prices increased 1.2% in May, compared with the month earlier, following a 0.9% increase the prior month.

The index for food bought to eat at home rose 1.4% in May, the fifth consecutive monthly increase of at least 1.0%, the BLS reported. The food at home index rose 11.9% over the last 12 months, the largest 12 month increase since the period ending April 1979. 

The index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 1.1% over the month, with the index for eggs rising 5.0%. For the 12 month period, the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased the most of the six major food categories, rising 14.2%, with the index for eggs alone increasing 32.2%. Five of the six major food categories saw prices rise more than 10% over the past year. 
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The food away from home index rose 0.7% in May after rising 0.6% in April, and rose 7.4% over the last year, the largest 12 month change since the period ending November 1981. The index for full service meals rose 9.0% over the last 12 months, and the index for limited service meals rose 7.3% over the last year. 

Attention hot sauce fans: There is likely to be a shortage of Sriracha sauce in the days and weeks ahead. Blame the weather.
Huy Fong Foods, maker of the popular Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, said a shortage of chili peppers is limiting its ability to produce several of its in-demand sauces, including its Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek. The California-based company cited climate conditions as part of the problem. Click here to read the full article. 

The highest inflation in roughly 40 years is prompting people to shift their shopping habits, especially at the grocery store.
About 90% of Americans are concerned about food prices, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Alpha Foods. The online survey questioned more than 2,000 American adults about their inflation concerns and shopping habits in two waves, March 18 to 23 and again May 6 to 8.
In that time, the cost of groceries also overtook gas prices as Americans’ top inflation concern. Click here to read the full article. 

Tackling runaway inflation won’t be easy and it won’t be quick, and it may carry a steep price tag that is just beginning to be paid.
To stop 40-year highs in price increases, the economy will have to slow. The ability of producers to get their goods to the marketplace will have to get a lot better, and demand and supply will have to come back into balance. Most troublingly, until the Ukraine war settles, these factors will have a limited impact on fixing the economy. Click here to read the full article. 

Foodservice prices in April were 10% higher than in April 2021, thanks to high energy costs and unstable global supply, the latest edition of the Foodservice Price Index from CGA and Prestige Purchasing shows.
It marked the third month of double-digit inflation in a row, and analysis by CGA and Prestige Purchasing suggested volatility in supply and costs was likely to fuel high food and drink prices for some time. The report predicted that further rises in inflation were possible in 2022, and that the rate was unlikely to fall below 7% until at least 2023. Click here to read the full article. 

What, where and how Americans eat is as varied as the individual consumer. But if there were three words to indicate the similarities, they might be: Protein, paper towels and TV. 
That’s among the findings in Datassential’s “The American Meal” report, which surveyed thousands of consumers about their eating habits both at and away from home. Click here to read the full article. 

Menu prices rose at an accelerating rate in May, with customers typically paying 7.4% more for an item than they did a year ago, according to new government figures.
The year-over-year increase was the sharpest upswing in restaurant prices since 1981, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted in updating the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The rise was particularly sharp for full-service establishments, with charges running 9% above year-ago levels. Prices at limited-service restaurants, where labor expenses are usually lower, increased year to year by 7.3%. Click here to read the full article. 

A large company will be expanding in Belvidere, expected to bring dozens of jobs to the area. General Mills says construction on a new 1.3 million square foot warehouse and distribution center will soon be underway at the intersection of Irene Rd. and US-20 in Belvidere. Click here to read the full article. 

​Hormel Foods on Thursday reaffirmed sales expectations and lowered the high end of its earnings guidance for 2022, citing avian influenza, logistics and transportation challenges and COVID-19 restrictions in China.

You know the commercial that says America runs on a certain brand's coffee and donuts? In truth, America runs on diesel. Just ask a trucker, a farmer or a factory owner. And right now, they are all hurting. That's because the machines that power their businesses need diesel, which is commanding nosebleed level prices right now. At around $5.50 a gallon, diesel prices are up a whopping 75% more than last year and blew past all-time record recently. Click here to read the full article. 

Cracks are forming in the U.S. labor market as some companies look to curb hiring while others are desperate for employees. What’s emerging is a tale of two job markets — albeit not equal in size or pay. Hospitality and other service sectors can’t hire enough workers to staff what’s expected to be a bustling summer rebound after two years of Covid obstacles. Tech and other large employers are warning they need to keep costs down and are putting employees on notice. Click here to read the full article. 

The good news for the restaurant industry is that sales growth continued to be positive in April. The industry experienced a 15-month streak of improving sales year-over-year. The last time industry sales growth was negative was February 2021, when restaurants were coming off a new high in the number of COVID cases at the end of 2020. But the unwelcome news is that the growth rate has been slowing considerably, with April’s 5.3% sales growth the weakest during that same period. Further weakening is expected in the months ahead, as the industry continues lapping over increasingly harder sales hurdles. Click here to read the full article. 

More consumers are opting to dine in-person amid fewer COVID-19 restrictions, while 29% plan to decrease their delivery app usage in the coming months, according to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from Next Insurance emailed to Restaurant Dive. In the past 90 days, 71% of consumers went out to eat and sat inside a restaurant, while 32% said they ate at a restaurant but sat outside. Local, non-chain restaurants may be experiencing a boost from this shift. In the past three months, 27% of consumers have dined at a local restaurant. Seventy-two percent of respondents have spent money on local restaurants, and 65% say they feel better about buying from a local restaurant than from a chain. Click here to read the full article.