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The latest organic sales figures are in and, no surprise, the industry slowed to single-digit growth during 2009. This after several years of through-the-roof gains in the teens and twenties. Organic, meet Earth. Earth, organic.

According to the Organic Trade Association, product sales in 2009 climbed 5.3% to reach $26.6 billion. That’s still a tiny percentage of the overall food industry, though embedded in the report are a few eye-catchers. Organic fruit and vegetable sales, for instance, grew by 11.4%, and now comprise 11.4% of all fruit and vegetable sales in the U.S., and 38% of the total organic food market. That’s pretty impressive, and it just goes to show how important fresh, perishable foods are to people who believe in the organic standard.

Unfortunately, that standard is under major scrutiny right now, and some consumers are losing confidence. An audit last month by the Office of the Inspector General found problems with import oversight, showing that reviews had not been conducted for some of the certifying agents abroad. This is a big deal since, to meet organic demand, companies have had to look to countries like China, Australia and Argentina for supplies. A recent poll by the OTA found that 41% of producers say “undependable supplies of organic raw materials limit their ability to generate sales.” MORE…

Today is Earth Day, and that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To some, it’s a reason to be pessimistic; a reminder of our increasing focus on “green” consumerism, which detractors say makes people feel better about themselves but doesn’t adequately address the problems facing our environment. To others, it’s a chance to reflect on their habits and develop new ways to consume less and simplify their lives. It’s a revelation, a crock, an opportunity, and just not enough — all at once.

It definitely isn’t what it used to be. As a story in today’s New York Times points out, the first Earth Day, back in 1970, was staunchly anti-business. More than a million participants marched down New York City’s Fifth Avenue and occupied Central Park in what, during the Vietnam/Woodstock era, was more love-in than national holiday.

Now we’ve got recycling promotions by Pepsi, Chiquita’s “365 Days of Sustainability”, and a pitch from a condom company to save the polar bears by practicing birth control. Not to mention programs from just about every supermarket retailer out there. Business has become inextricably linked to the environmental movement. The question is: what’s progress, and what’s marketing hype?

This is important for retailers and manufacturers to consider. On one level, there’s the argument that consumers are growing more educated and demanding authenticity. Think about it. Would anybody have predicted ten years ago that there’d be so much animosity towards high-fructose corn syrup? Or that, with all the choice and sophisticated ordering systems and marketing behind a modern supermarket, so many consumers really just want a farmer’s market experience — a place where they can buy canvas bags and purchase local and organic products? MORE…

Hearing the demands coming from regulators and consumers, more and more manufacturers are cutting back on sodium in the foods they make. Just last week General Mills announced it will cut sodium by 20% in most of its products, and companies like Kraft, ConAgra and others have started marketing around their lower sodium counts.

But according to a report released today by the Institute of Medicine, this isn’t enough. What’s really needed, the authors state, is national regulation that will gradually bring sodium consumption more in line with recommended guidelines. Currently, Americans consume 50% more sodium each day than they should, increasing their risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

“What is needed is a coordinated effort to reduce sodium in foods across the board by manufacturers and restaurants — that is, create a level playing field for the food industry,” according to the briefing.

Since sodium is such an ingrained taste — you don’t always know when it’s there, but you certainly know when it’s not — the IOM recommends gradually stepping down amounts rather than cut out a bunch of it all at once. Ideally, consumers wouldn’t notice much of a difference.

A story in today’s Washington Post reported, via anonymous sources within the Food and Drug Administration, that the FDA has already begun taking the steps outlined by the IOM report. This afternoon, the FDA issued a statement saying that, in fact, it is not currently working on regulations and hasn’t made any plans in that direction. MORE…

The U.S. Census is almost wrapped up and the counting will soon begin in earnest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is doing its own counting in 2010, but the constituents are a bit different. Instead of canvassing neighborhoods, the USDA is counting farmer’s markets.

The results will become part of an annual catalogue that’s a revealing snapshot of America’s love affair with fresh food — and provides supermarkets a valuable inside look at how this competing format is performing.

“For the future of sound farmer market policies, it is critical to make the USDA National Farmers Market Directory as accurate as possible,” said Rayne Pegg, administrator for the agency’s Agricultural Marketing Service, said in a promotional statement. “USDA can’t do it alone, and we ask for assistance in compiling this directory.”

The government has been tracking farmer’s markets since 1994, and at last count, there were nearly 5,000 of them operating all around the country. As any retailer will tell you, these venues are tough to compete with. Nothing satisfies the current consumer desire to connect with their sources of food like a farmer’s market, where farmers themselves bring their own product to sell, directly to the consumer. MORE…

Transitioning to cage-free eggs seemed to be all the rage in the food industry. Wal-Mart recently made this move, as has Trader Joe’s, along with restaurant chains like Wendy’s, Sonic and IHOP.

It’s a thoughtful gesture, for sure, and a smart business move with consumers these days demanding humanely raised food. They’ve seen the pictures of chickens crammed together in cages, of downer cows picked up by forklifts and pigs lolling in their pens. Earlier this month The Humane Society released undercover video taken at one of the country’s largest egg farms, showing workers abusing live chickens and casually discarding scores of dead ones.

But not everyone is on board — not by a long shot. McDonald’s, which serves millions of Egg Mcmuffins every year, had a proposal before its board of directors recently to source 5% of its eggs from cage-free chickens. Doesn’t seem like much, yet the board recommended a “no” vote to its shareholders, saying there’s not enough science to prove cage-free is actually better for the animals and the eggs.

Indeed, as we’re once again reminded, there are business realities that stand in the way of any health and sustainability movement, and the biggest one is price, a factor that McDonald’s and all the other quick-service chains are very sensitive to. And in the fight for cage-free chickens and eggs, farmers and industry groups are hitting back harder than ever. MORE…

It’s that time again. A winter of planning, meetings and logistics has brought us around again to another season of local foods, much of which is just now hitting store shelves.

In produce there might be strawberries or asparagus; there’s also more honey and dairy and meat, now that the spring blooms are out and livestock can get their fill of fresh pastureland.

Local has become a big draw for retailers of all sizes. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest food retailer, says that 20% of its produce, in season, is local; Whole Foods Market spends 22% of its produce budget sourcing local fruits and vegetables. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, local food sales are expected to reach $7 billion by 2012, up from $5 billion in 2007.

The growth of locally grown foods seems to be following the same path taken by organics after the USDA implemented the National Organic Program in 2002; that is, demand quickly outstripped demand.

However, unlike organic, the local movement can’t make up for shortfalls in ingredients of products by heading overseas. So, retailers, producers and the matchmakers in between are stuck trying to work out a system that is efficient, safe and profitable.

According to a new article to be published in the next issue of the Choices, the online magazine of the Agricultural Applied Economics Association, mainstream supermarket growth will depend on the farmer’s ability to meet consumer expectations of quality and price. MORE…

Here’s one thing we know: The weight-loss products industry is booming.

Here’s one thing we don’t know: How to actually lose weight. According the latest industry snapshot from CPG research firm Packaged Facts, Americans spent $26 billion on weight-loss and weight management products last year — yet the prevalence of obesity in this country over the past ten years increased 48% amongst adults, and 72% amongst children. It’s projected that by the year 2018 obesity-related medical expenses will more than triple from their current rate.

You can’t blame people for not trying. The report states that 39% of adults are working to lose or maintain weight. Nearly three fourths of sales go to diet foods and drinks, while 18% goes to weight loss programs and services like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem. The bottom 10% belongs to over-the-counter drugs, therapies and (shudder) surgical intervention.

So who’s to blame here, the products or the consumer? Perhaps both. People want their diets to be quick and easy, and companies help them maintain that illusion. There was the carb craze, for one, and now there’s something called the “cookie diet”. Ask any dietitian or nutritionist worth her salt, and she’ll tell you losing weight is hard work, requiring a combination of exercise, planning, and smaller, more wholesome portions.

Nevertheless, we soldier on. The latest trend nowadays, according to the Packaged Facts report, is with food and drinks promoting satiety. These items are supposed to give consumers a feeling of fullness, keeping them from the cravings that cause them to raid the pantry. MORE…

A few weeks back we met with Suman Lawrence, who’s the Living Well business manager at United Supermarkets, to talk about the Texas chain’s upcoming series of Living Well Expos. These themed, customer-oriented events combine food, health and fun. But they’re not easy to organize, as any retailer involved in whole health marketing knows. There are a lot of moving parts that need to be synchronized. Here’s how United is doing it:

Earth Month, Earth Week, Earth Day: Take your pick but they’re all good ways for retailers to showcase their environmental initiatives during a time when awareness is highest.

Minneapolis-based mass merchandiser Target toyed with the wording a bit and announced a month-long celebration of Earth Day. As part of the plan, the retailer has installed permanent recycling stations in all 1,740 stores.

What’s truly interesting about this is that these centers will be accepting much more than the bottles, cans and paper that are the traditional drop-offs at such places. The Target center is also taking in cell phones, ink printer cartridges and MP3 players.

Think about it. This is the detritus of the disposable age, and it’s critical that we figure out what to do with all of it. The problem is, while bottles and cans are basically composed of a single element (aluminum or plastic), these new disposables include batteries, wires, plastic and composite materials that are neither plastic nor metal.

As such, they require further processing offsite — whether they’re broken down into components or refurbished for resale. At least consumers — and the outlets that sell these products— are beginning to realize that these devices just don’t disappear, and that, indeed, some parts are toxic to the environment as they degrade.

A new report out from Mintel shows that green living is very much on the mind of Americans. More than one-third (35%) of survey respondents said they would pay more for “environmentally friendly” products. MORE…

In recent years there has been a noticeable surge in the value-added perishable items found around the perimeter of your favorite food store. In the past, there would typically be dairy items like milk, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, prepared pasta salads and meat, seafood and produce — but not much else.

Now we find items for the “speed scratch” cooks who are time-starved, but want to have a hand in the creation of a meal; so they purchase already prepared ingredients like ready-made sauces, pre-peeled and pre-cut veggies, meat that has been trimmed and sliced, pre-cooked pasta and rice, etc. — as well as items that are ready to heat and eat — for those of us who just want a fast meal without the time or fuss.

Most markets tout a well-stocked section of sauces (pestos, pasta sauces, cheese sauces, and meat sauces), spreads (hummus, bean dips, sour cream and cheese dips, and even compound butters) and an ever-growing assortment of ready-made, “home-cooked” entrees from single size portions to family size trays. Our inspiration comes from a variety of sources — ethnic and otherwise — but we should give credit to retailers across the pond for their ingenuity in the creation of this sector.

The large food retailers in the United Kingdom are all about value-added perishable items that are taking a serious hold here in the United States. They have taught us that quality is king in the fresh section: The better the flavor and the more reasonable the price, the higher the sales.

As this category in our markets continues to expand, we need to keep up with advances in our distribution networks, too. Improvements will translate into a reduction in the amounts of chemical preservatives used to extend shelf life. If stores are receiving multiple refrigerated shipments per week, there is no need for all of the preservatives. I am not sure if this would make Michael Pollen proud of our retail accomplishments, but it’s certainly a start.