McDonald's President: California Keeps Looking for Ways to Raise Prices, Drive Away More Businesses

Whether you're a lawmaker, a business owner or leader, or an everyday voter, one thing is clear: California has become a dramatic case study of putting bad politics over good policy.

Last fall, the legislature passed a bill – AB257, or the FAST Act – almost entirely at the behest of organized labor's firm grip on many of the state's lawmakers. It makes it all but impossible to run small business restaurants, but the impacts are far beyond that. Under the FAST Act

CDFA Finalizes Proposition 12 Regulations—What Lies Ahead?

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has finalized the Proposition 12 implementation rules, which can be found here. The finalized regulations are similar to the second modified text, which was released in June of this year. 

According to an FAQ on CDFA's website, Proposition 12 is a "ballot initiative passed in 2018 by California voters that prohibits confining farm animals (egg-laying hens, veal calves and breeding pigs) in a cruel manner and prohibits the sale of products (eggs, veal meat and pork meat) from farm animals confined in a cruel manner into California commerce."

The law mandates minimum housing space requirements for breeding pigs, veal calves, and egg-laying hens and was originally set to begin on January 1, 2022. However, a ruling earlier this year delayed Proposition 12 for 180 days after the final rules went into effect...

New Cold Storage Facility in SoCal Lands Safe Quality Foods Certification

West Coast Cold Storage, a Southern California-based food-grade warehousing service provider, attained Safe Quality Foods (SQF) certification for their new state-of-the-art facility.

The woman-owned facility boasts 124,000 Sq. Ft. of space and wrapped up the SQF auditing processing within six months of starting operations. The facility garnered a 97 out of 100 in its first audit.

The certification was administered by the Food Marketing Institute and recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), the company shared in a press release...

Smithfield Foods to Close Vernon, CA Facility; Reduce Hog Production in Western Region

Smithfield Foods, Inc. today announced that it will cease all harvest and processing operations in Vernon, California in early 2023 and, at the same time, align its hog production system by reducing its sow herd in its Western region. The company will decrease its sow herd in Utah and is exploring strategic options to exit its farms in Arizona and California. Smithfield harvests only company-owned hogs in Vernon. Smithfield will service customers in California with its Farmer John brand and other brands and...

The Save Mart Companies Announces Acquisition by Kingswood Capital Management

Today, The Save Mart Companies announced that Kingswood Capital Management LP ("Kingswood") has acquired the company. Kingswood is an operationally-focused private equity firm based in Los Angeles, with significant experience in the retail sector. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Modesto, California, The Save Mart Companies is committed to sourcing a wide variety of local products across approximately 200 stores and serves communities throughout California and Northern Nevada. The company operates stores under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky California, and FoodMaxx. In addition to...