Bakery

Dawn Food Products Inc. has decided to close a 160-employee bakery in northwestern Indiana. The company says the bakery in Crown Point will close in phases until being shut down by the end of August. The Jackson, Mich.-based company says it decided to close the bakery to increase efficiency and that it would expand operations elsewhere. …

Welcome to the front lines in a public war on bad-for-you fats. Call them the trans-fat fuzz, the posse of partial hydrogenation. Martin Sum and his Contra Costa County colleagues are out to enforce a new statewide ban on trans fats in food facilities. …

The 2010 Pinpoint-U.S. Counties-Consumer Spending-Food-Cereals and Baked Goods report, published annually, provides 2010 consumer spending by 3,100+ U.S. counties. The consumer spending data categories include: total consumer spending, food at home, cereal products, and baked goods. …

The marketer of Cheerios, Pillsbury, Yoplait and Betty Crocker has become a stalwart of the Great Recession, thanks to increased spending, but also product innovation and its ability to capitalize on the trend toward in-home eating. General Mills’ baking segment, which includes Pillsbury and Betty Crocker, posted a 1% sales increase for the first nine months of fiscal 2010. …

Part of it is the nature of the business, but bakeries also are experiencing the economic downturn along with the rest of the food industry. And for a “boutique” bakery like Tasty Pastries, it takes even more effort to ride out the storm. …