Food Business News - May 7, 2013 - 11

Drought area in the
United States falls
below 50%

F.D.A. to investigate eﬀect of
caﬀeine on children’s health
Gum launch spurs the agency into action
Continued from Page 1
in a food was for cola, and that was
in the 1950s,” Michael R. Taylor, the
F.D.A.’s deputy commissioner for foods
and veterinary medicine, said in an
April 29 statement. “Today, the environment has changed. Children and
adolescents may be exposed to caffeine
beyond these foods in which caffeine
is naturally found and beyond anything
F.D.A. envisioned when it made the determination regarding caffeine in cola.
“For that reason, F.D.A. is taking a
fresh look at the potential impact that
the totality of new and easy sources of
caffeine may have on the health of children and adolescents, and if necessary,
will take appropriate action.”
The F.D.A. also is investigating caffeinated energy drinks such as Monster
Energy, 5-hour Energy and Rockstar. According to Las Vegas-based Rockstar, Inc., an 8-oz
serving of its products may contain either 80
mg or 120 mg of caffeine, depending on the
product. The following statement is found on
all Rockstar product labels, “Not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women,
or those sensitive to caffeine.”
The clinical report “Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: are
they appropriate?” appeared earlier this year

in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village,
Ill. The report said stimulant-containing energy drinks have no place in the diets of children
or adolescents.
“Caffeine has been shown to enhance physical performance in adults by increasing aerobic
endurance and strength, improving reaction time,
and delaying fatigue,” the report said. “However,
these effects are extremely variable, dose dependent, and, most importantly, have not been studied in children and adolescents.” FBN

LINCOLN, NEB. — The area of the
contiguous United States in moderate drought or worse fell below
50% for the first time since June
19, 2012, according to the latest
edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor released April 18. Heavy precipitation across the Plains and
the upper Midwest continued to
ease drought. The area of the lower
48 states in moderate drought or
worse declined to 47.82%, from
50.82% the previous week.
In the Midwest, heavy rains
soaked into thawing soils and reduced drought in Minnesota, Iowa,
Wisconsin and Missouri, according
to the report. The area of the Midwest in moderate drought or worse
declined to 20.94% from 32.24%.
In the Plains, drought receded
in eastern Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, extreme eastern Nebraska and
the Nebraska Panhandle, and most
of the Dakotas. An area of exceptional drought, the worst category
within the context of The Drought
Monitor, was eliminated from
South Dakota. Heavy rains also
improved conditions in Georgia,
South Carolina and Florida. But
decent precipitation eluded Texas
and Arizona, which were among
the few areas where drought got
worse. FBN

Brynwood acquires Bit-O-Honey brand
GREENWICH, CONN. — Brynwood Partners VI L.P., through its Pearson Candy
Co., has acquired the Bit-O-Honey confectionery brand from Nestle USA, Inc. It
is the fifth brand Brynwood has acquired
from Nestle. Terms of the transaction
were not disclosed.
Introduced in 1924 by the SchutterJohnson Co. of Chicago, Bit-O-Honey
was acquired by Nestle in 1984. According to Brynwood, Bit-O-Honey is available in many formats and has wide U.S.
retail distribution in food, drug, mass
market and dollar channels.
“The acquisition of Bit-O-Honey will
complement our strong Pearson’s business,” said Henk Hartong III, senior
managing partner of Brynwood VI and
vice-chairman of Pearson’s. “While management continues to focus on product

May 7, 2013

innovation and expanding the company’s
geographic reach, the Bit-O-Honey brand
has strong national awareness. We feel
this acquisition will be a conduit to expand the reach of all of Pearson’s brands
throughout the U.S.”
Pearson Candy is headquartered in
St. Paul, Minn., and has been owned by
Brynwood since August 2011. The company’s products include salted nut rolls
and mint patties as well as Pearson’s Nut
Goodies and Pearson’s Bun.
Bit-O-Honey is the 37th corporate
brand acquired by Brynwood since the
private equity group’s inception in 1984.
The pace of acquisitions has accelerated
in recent years with 23 brand acquisitions
completed since January 2011 in 10 separate transactions.
Food businesses are a Brynwood

specialty, accounting for three of the
nine companies currently in the group’s
portfolio. In addition to Pearson, Brynwood owns Back to Nature Foods Co., a
maker of cookies, crackers, granola, trail
mix and juices, and DeMet’s Candy Co.,
maker of Turtle’s, Flipz, Treasures and
TrueNorth snack brands. FBN

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Food Business News - May 7, 2013

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