There are enough opinions, theories and issues behind the story of Pilgrim’s Pride and its mid-February decision to officially “idle” three plants - that the resulting ruckus could be compared to a hen house, complete with flying feathers and lots of squawking.

The Chill Factor is a new R&FF blog. Watch this space for updates and additional blogs!

Do you know how many consumers would consider themselves fans of your brand? What percentage of these people uses the internet?

At a time when consumers demand value, branded retail food companies no longer can afford a dysfunctional approach to R&D. Gone are the days of  emphasizing development over consumer research.

Every Sunday morning I get up, start the coffee maker and open my front door to retrieve the plump Sunday paper. It’s one of my favorite weekend rituals and I’ve observed it for years. I love attempting the Sunday crossword and reading the Metro and entertainment sections. But lately, a new part of the paper has drawn my interest.

What qualities does someone need to successfully lead a food company? That topic captivated me last September when Refrigerated & Frozen Foods profiled Nestlé Prepared Foods Co. and, in part, its President and CEO Angelo Iantosca.

The food world is full of unlikely combinations. For example, a few years ago a friend told me about her new odd “combo” obsession. I tried it, and consequently spent more than a handful of evenings eating spoonfuls of peanut butter dipped in vanilla yogurt.

I admit it. After attempts at resistance, I recently jumped on two bandwagons.

It was back in the early '70s and most often, right after school. That's when every able-bodied kid in my block huddled together. Each one stuck a foot in the middle and then one kid (certainly a leader among us) used a mathematical process to determine who would be "it" in the next game of freeze tag.

A self-proclaimed “packaging” and “product” addict, I am the type of person who could spend hours in a Target store just looking at all the boxes and bags of goodies, giving special attention to those marked “new packaging,” “now with more flavor!” or “on sale for a limited time only.”