Three types of raw tomatoes -- red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes -- grown in 17 states are voluntarily being pulled of the shelves and menus of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Burger King (NYSE: BKC), Kroger (NYSE: KR), Outback Steakhouse, Winn-Dixie (NYSE: WINN) and Taco Bell, among others. In fact, "McDonald's has stopped serving sliced tomatoes on its sandwiches as a precaution, but will continue serving grape tomatoes in its salads because no problems have been linked to that variety."

Similarly, Burger King, Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) restaurants, Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI), and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) have also removed the contaminated brands from their menus across the U.S., and some, like Burger King, in Canada, Puerto Rico and some other Caribbean islands as well. Many left the non-contaminated brands on the menu.

Continue reading Tomatoes removed from shelves, just as they were getting yummy

Tomatoes removed from shelves, just as they were getting yummy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

When it comes to this staple of kitchens and diners worldwide, the most common question after "Is it ketchup or catsup?" has got to be "Heinz or Hunt's?"

The Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company was founded in 1890 by Joseph and William Hunt in Santa Clara, California. It was a small canning business on the ground of a ranch, delivered locally by horse-drawn carriage. In 1946, tomato sauce became the flagship product, and a marketing push made the little red cans familiar across the U.S., and lead to plethora of other tomato-based products, including spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, and, of course, ketchup.

Today Hunt's is one brand of many belonging to packaged and frozen foods giant ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) ranging from Healthy Choice to Slim Jims, from Orville Redenbacher to Egg Beaters. ConAgra reported $12 billion in sales last year.

Continue reading Battle of the Brands: Heinz vs. Hunt's

Battle of the Brands: Heinz vs. Hunt's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 May 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.