Research firm Technomic revised its 2010 U.S. foodservice industry outlook, which originally included a decline of 1.6 percent in growth, to include positive growth of 0.6 percent.

"The most significant changes are in the 'commercial' sectors, with full service restaurants, hotels and recreation, in particular, showing better-than-expected improvements," said Joe Pawlak, Technomic vice president. "The limited-service restaurant segment is also up slightly over earlier estimates."

Technomic's revised forecast indicates that the foodservice industry, having once hit the bottom, is now beginning to bounce back. "There are definitely signs of improvement," says Pawlak, "although the recovery will be slow going forward."