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Kroger recalls precut fruits; Toyota to team up with Starbucks for mobile café

TOP NEWS

* Supermarket chain operator The Kroger Co. removed precut fruit products from its stores in Indiana and Michigan over concerns of possible contamination from a strain of salmonella. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contacted the Cincinnati-based food retailer a day prior regarding illnesses reported in connection with the outbreak of salmonella adelaide. Targeted for removal and recall were precut cantaloupe, precut watermelon and precut melon mix products sold at select Kroger, Jay C, Owen's and Pay Less stores in the two states, with a sell-by date of June 11 or before.

* Toyota Motor Corp. is set to collaborate with major companies across industries, including U.S. coffee giant Starbucks Corp., for its automated mobility services ecosystem e-Palette, the Nikkei Asian Review reported. As a part of the collaboration, Toyota plans to coordinate with Starbucks to set up a mobile café, the Nikkei added.

FOOD RETAIL AND DISTRIBUTION

* U.K. food and general merchandise retailer J Sainsbury PLC is set to roll out "fake" meats in 400 of its larger stores June 27, The Guardian reported. The lookalike meat, manufactured by Danish Naturli' Foods A/S, contains beetroot to recreate the color of raw, medium and well-done meat. The food retailer made the move to tap the burgeoning vegan market and the estimated 22 million "flexitarians" in the U.K., or people who enjoy meat but want to cut consumption, the report added.

* Sainsbury CEO Michael Coupe is set to receive a bonus payout worth £427,000, following the company's strong performance in the last financial year. Coupe received 41% of the total possible bonus for a payout of £3.4 million, marking an increase of almost £1.1 million compared to the previous year.

* U.K.'s Food Standards Agency is investigating allegations that meat-free and vegan meals sold at Tesco PLC and Sainsbury's stores contained traces of meat from turkey and pork, Reuters reported, citing an emailed statement from the British food watchdog. The statement reportedly came after The Telegraph reported that it detected meat in ready-made meals sold by the two grocers after sending 10 various food items to a Germany-accredited food-testing lab. Sainsbury responded that it found no evidence of meat after completing extensive tests, while Tesco said it found no traces of meat and urged the newspaper to share the full details of their tests and investigation, the report said.

PACKAGED FOODS

* SpartanNash Co.-owned CFS Family Holdings Inc., voluntarily recalled precut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and precut mixed fruit containing one of those melons, produced at the Caito Foods facility in Indianapolis, over fears of possible contamination from a strain of salmonella. The products, which were packaged in clear plastic clamshell containers, were distributed between April 17 and June 7. According to a Reuters report, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Centers for Disease Control urged the residents of eight states — Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio — to check for the recalled melons as 60 illnesses and at least 31 hospitalizations in five states were linked to it.

* Mars Petcare, the pet food unit of Mars Inc., agreed to acquire AniCura AB, marking the Virginia-based company's entrance into the European veterinary care market. Financial details were not disclosed, but according to a report by the Financial Times, the deal values AniCura at almost €2 billion. AniCura's existing management will continue to lead the business after the deal closes, which is expected in the fourth quarter.

BEVERAGES

* South African packaged food company Clover Industries Ltd. partnered with functional food company FutureLife to launch a nutritional dairy product, Smart Drink, Food Business Africa reported. The drink, made from dairy and specialized non-GMO starches, will come in different flavors and cater to on-the-go customers.

TOBACCO & SMOKING PRODUCTS

* Philip Morris International Inc. increased its quarterly dividend by 6.5% to $1.14 per share from $1.07 per share, payable July 11 to shareholders on record as of June 22. The dividend increase reflects the board's confidence in the potential of the company's smoke-free products. On an annual basis, the new dividend is $4.56 per share.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* The Senate Agriculture Committee is set to take up the 2018 farm bill, or the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, during the week beginning June 11, CNBC reported. According to the report, some Senate groups hope that the bill, which covers programs ranging from farm subsidies and food stamps to trade and rural development policy, will contain more reforms on farm subsidies.

* Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will delist U.S. corn, wheat and soybean futures products without any open interest and will cease listing new contracts on the agricultural commodities after it failed to break into the market controlled by Chicago's CME Group Inc., the Financial Times reported. The exchange operator reportedly will retain its ICE August soybean futures contract, which has four contracts outstanding and one remaining grain and oilseed contract, canola seed futures.

* Good rainfall at the end of the winter wheat planting window in western Australia brought relief to farmers after difficult weather conditions threatened to cut crop yields for a second consecutive season, Reuters reported. In the 2017-2018 winter, farmers in Australia harvested about 21.2 million tons of wheat, a 38% year-over-year decline from 34.4 million tons harvested in the year-ago period, the report said. Farmers on the east coast are still waiting for rain and have reportedly started replacing wheat with canola, which has a later planting window and gives them more time to wait for rainfall.

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The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng was up 0.34% to 31,063.70. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.48% to 22,804.04.

In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.91% to 7,750.65, and the Euronext 100 rose 0.43% to 1,062.12.

On the macro front

No notable reports due out today.

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