FLASH! FROZEN

Vlasic Foods International, the Cherry Hill, N.J.-based spin-off of Campbell, will double spending on Swanson frozen dinners and Vlasic pickles next year. Brands had coasted and lost momentum after neglect by Campbell, observers say. As it focuses on core business, Vlasic is selling its frozen sweet goods plant in Peterlee, England, and planning to divest its Kattus gourmet foods distribution business in Germany... Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Burlington, Vt., inks distribution agreement with Häagen-Dazs (Pillsbury), ending its 12-year relationship with Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Oakland, Calif., which had distributed Ben & Jerry's exclusively in half the country. New pact lets Ben & Jerry's increase direct selling by its own sales force. Häagen-Dazs will distribute Ben & Jerry's products in specified territories, while independent distributors will handle balance. Bridge is not burned: Ben & Jerry's and Dreyer's may yet do more business in future... Atlas Cold Storage, Toronto, to open state-of-the-art PRW and distribution center in St. Laurent, Quebec. Facility has 5 million cubic feet, with 14,000 pallet positions, 50-foot refrigerated dock with 16 doors. Will also offer blast freezing... James Yudis Associates, the Oregon, Ill.-based temp-sensitive transportation specialists, adds unit for contractual third-party marketing/sales for PRWs... Fleming Companies forms joint venture marketing company with Associated Grocers of Seattle: AG/Fleming Northwest L.L.C. Goal is to help independents in Pacific Northwest compete with big chains. Alliance creates largest food marketing/distribution operation in region. New firm uses AG for purchasing, transportation & warehouse space; Fleming will offer IGA, Food 4 Less and Shop-n Kart marketing programs to qualified independents... Royal Ahold is selling off 10 Maryland and Pennsylvania stores so that FTC will allow it to complete purchase of Giant Foods Inc., Landover, Md. Buyers of units include Fleming, Richfood Holdings, Frederick County Foods, Safeway and Supervalu... International Menu Solutions (IMS) Corp., Kitchner, Ontario, says its subsidiary, Prime Foods Processing, begins shipping two entrees to Loblaw Brands Limited next month. Meal solutions items will be part of Loblaw house brand line. IMS plans its first U.S. retail program later this year in Wegman's Supermarkets in upstate New York... GLV Foods, Rahway, N.J., extends distribution of frozen Upper Krust Pizza to 460 metro New York outlets... Dean Foods Co., Franklin Park, Ill., to buy Berkeley Farms Inc., Hayward, Calif.-based dairy processor/distributor with sales of $160 million... On-line grocery shopping is mostly "hype" says Forrester Research, Cambridge, Mass., which pooh-poohs serious growth for at least next five years. Delivery of fresh/frozen produce is key obstacle, firm says... Police in Caracas, Venezuela bust a ring of smugglers who've been hiding cocaine inside frozen chickens... Tyson Foods forms new division, Tyson Prepared Foods Group, with Wayne Butler as president. He had been head of the Mexican Original unit, which is key part of new division... FDA says it inspected barely 2% of 2.7 million imported shipments of food in 1997, and that increasing load and shrinking staffs are making it easier for unscrupulous traders to get around federal safety standards... Suiza Foods Corp., Dallas, is acquiring Broughton Foods Co., Marietta, Ohio, for $123 million. Deal helps Suiza build markets in Midwest and South, where Broughton, with annual sales of $200 million, distributes ice cream, milk and dairy products... Northland Cranberries, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., is buying juice division of Seneca Foods, Pittsford, N.Y. Deal, for $30-$35 million, should close next month. It includes all rights to Seneca's TreeSweet, Awake and Orange Plus brands, plus exclusive license of Seneca brand for all juice products... Safeway will use systems from Manugistics, Rockville, Md., to improve inbound transportation efforts for its 1,368 stores in United States and Canada... Consumer Reports says calcium-fortified orange juice tastes good, whether frozen or ready-to-serve, from concentrate, or not. (What a relief!) But Consumers Union also says too many people get sick from foodborne illnesses, and suggests installing a Food Safety Czar... According to Sara Lee Homestyle Pie Holiday Survey, top two holiday pie picks among Americans are pumpkin (28%) and apple (25%). Some 66% of us like our pies warm vs. cold, and 31% think Mom bakes the best pie. Another 26% list themselves as premier pie baker, followed by Sara Lee at 21%, and spouses, 19%.