Food Institute's Brian Todd Warns Of Rising Food Prices

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Retail food prices are expected to rise more in 2011 than they have in the prior two years, warned Food Institute President & CEO Brian Todd when he addressed foodservice sales professionals Nov. 4 at a management workshop in Baltimore, MD. Approximately 35 executives in the foodservice industry gathered in the Baltimore Convention Center to attend the Effective Sales Management Workshop sponsored by Winning the Selling Game.

"Wholesale food prices in September were up 5.1 percent from a year earlier, while retail food prices were up only 1.4 percent," noted Todd, who credited retailers and foodservice operators with holding down costs in other areas to keep prices on supermarket shelves from "rising more dramatically."

Though retailers have sheltered consumers from the full blow of rising food prices, the gap between wholesale and retail price is narrowing. Grocery-shoppers could face higher prices for meal staples starting this Thanksgiving holiday, according to The Food Institute's analysis.