Milling & Baking News - June 30, 2009 - 4

Contents

June 30, 2009Vol. 88, No. 9

SPECIAL FEATURE

NEWS Comment

Story on Page 19

Credit outlook a
spur to re-financing
against future

Nothing plain about
these ingredients
Premium sources of agave,
chocolate and vanilla may
create high-end products

9

Cookie dough linked
to E. coli illnesses

Nestle USA's Baking Division recalls Toll House
brand refrigerated cookie dough products after
illnesses are linked to consumers who ate raw
Toll House cookie dough.

10

Perfecting pizza?
Manufacturers go natural, add
premium ingredients to meet
consumers' needs

Story on Page 24

Former American Italian Pasta Co. executives
Horst W. Schroeder and Warren B. Schmidgall
settle fraud charges with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.

11

DEPARTMENTS

Former pasta executives
settle with S.E.C.

PepsiCo to ally with
Japanese snack maker

PepsiCo., Inc. and Tokyo-based Calbee Foods
Co., Ltd. form a strategic alliance to produce
and sell a range of products in Japan. The
products include potato chips, vegetable snacks,
breakfast cereal and crackers.

7 Editorial
9 Business
14 Data

12

15 International
17 People

MGPI details
organizational changes

MGP Ingredients, Inc. reshuffles management
positions through transition and consolidation
of roles. Scott Phillips and Don Coffey fill vicepresident positions.

26 Regulatory Affairs
27 Industry Activities
31 Ingredient Week Trends
40 Supplier Innovations
46 Archive

30

Sandy Whann elected
I.B.A. chairman

Robert J. (Sandy) Whann, president of
Leidenheimer Baking Co., to chairman at
Independent Bakers Association.

Thus far, at least, grain-based foods
companies are not in the forefront of
businesses rushing into re-financing
transactions. But as the pace of such
actions picks up, and even though the
pressures that encourage many firms to
make such moves have been absent from
this part of the food industry, it seems likely
that expansion will occur. After all, interest
rates continue at historically low levels and
re-financing provides the opportunity to
extend or take on credit at favorable rates.
The availability of favorable refinancing to companies in grain-based
foods is a rarity. That is definitely not the
case in businesses hurt by the recession.
In many instances, re-financing is
undertaken in desperation in order to
assure credit is there into an unknown
future. Desperate moves often require
sharp increases in interest rates and an
array of harsher covenants. In return,
maturities of loans and revolving credits
have been extended for two or three
years, giving companies breathing space
beyond near maturity.
Even the most successful of grainbased foods companies ought to be
considering the advantages of securing
credit or similar funding. What is
described as a massive bubble of credit
entered into during 2005-07 will be
maturing in another few years, with $440
billion of debt due in the 2012-14 period.
This immense overhang is likely to bring
about a dramatic change in credit markets
and interest rates that make early actions
seem particularly desirable. MBN

COMPANIES IN THIS ISSUE
American Italian Pasta Co. ........ 10
Archer Daniels Midland Co.......... 8
Associate Proteins LP ................ 11
Aunt Gussie's Cookies
and Crackers .............................. 8
Barry Callebaut ......................... 22
Blommer Chocolate Co.............. 17
Calbee Foods Co., Ltd. ............... 11
Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate ........ 22
Chr. Hansen A/S ......................... 12
4 / June 30, 2009

Milling & Baking News

Chromatin Inc. ............................ 8
Circle Foods............................... 10
ConAgra Foods, Inc. .............. 8, 40
Dakota Growers Pasta Co. Inc. ... 12
Ellison Bakery, Inc...................... 11
Frutarom Industries Ltd. ............ 12
General Mills, Inc. ....................... 9
Great Harvest Bread Co............. 20
Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. ....... 11
The Kellogg Co. ......................... 24

Kerry............................................ 9
Kraft Foods Inc. ............... 1, 17, 24
The Long Co. ............................. 10
MGP Ingredients, Inc. ................ 12
National Starch Food Innovation ....40
Nestle USA .................................. 9
Newman's Own......................... 24
Nielsen-Massey Vanillas ............ 19
PepsiCo, Inc. .............................. 11
Pioneer Hi-Bred ......................... 40

The Quaker Oats Co................... 22
Sara Lee Bakery Group ................ 9
Schwan Food Co........................ 24
SunOpta Global
Organic Ingredients.................. 20
Syngenta Biotechnoloy, Inc. ........ 8
Tahitian Gold Co., Inc. ............... 19
Viterra Inc.................................. 11
Wholesome Sweeteners ............ 20
Wilbur Chocolate ...................... 22
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Milling & Baking News - June 30, 2009

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