The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), University of Maryland, their Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Waters Corp. have opened the International Food Safety Training Laboratory, a groundbreaking public-private partnership that applies government, university and private industry expertise and resources to the global food safety challenge. The IFSTL (www.ifstl.org) is […]
Author Archives: Shelby Report Staff
The Shelby Report newsroom covers the grocery industry for retailers, wholesalers and suppliers. Staff reports include store openings, executive appointments, company announcements and industry event coverage. Since 1967, The Shelby Report has covered supermarkets, grocery chains and independent grocers through five regional editions.
Posted in, Southeast
J&J Foods Provides Troops With a Life-Saving Gift: Shaving Cream
Through its ties to the community, three-store Gainesville-based grocer J&J Foods learned that soldiers in Afghanistan were running low on something very valuable: shaving cream. The soldiers use the white foam to mark suspected sites of roadside bombs, which can save soldiers’, and others’, lives and limbs. J&J got word through a Marine’s father that […]
Posted in, National, Organic Natural
Forces of Nature Introduces Certified Organic Medicines
Forces of Nature®, a pharmaceutical company and the first manufacturer of medicine that is certified organic, has introduced its Control line, featuring 14 USDA Certified Organic and FDA Registered topical medicines that target seven hard-to-treat conditions including acne, herpes cold sores (caused by herpes simplex 1 or 2) and scars. The Control line is currently […]
Posted in, National, Organic Natural
Funk, Lipson Receive OTA’s Highest Honor
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) recently announced that it had selected Michael Funk of United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) and Mark Lipson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to receive its prestigious Organic Leadership Awards for 2011. “Both Michael Funk and Mark Lipson have had a long commitment to the organic movement. Michael has […]
Posted in, Ellerbee Buzz, National
Bat .501 and Keep Your Eye on the Ball
Did you ever have something happen that you thought was just, well, awful, but then later it turns into a point of pride, something you’re sure to share with your as-yet unborn grandchildren? Happens all the time. One day you can’t quite get your bearings. The next you’re on top of the world. Getting from […]
Posted in, National, New Products
Thai Kitchen introduces new line of all-natural Thai herbs, spices and sauces
For home cooks looking to recreate their favorite Thai dishes, Thai Kitchen has introduced a new line of 100 percent all-natural Thai herbs and spices and sauces. Available in five varieties, these herbs and spices allow at-home cooks to add their own signature to traditional Thai dishes while bringing out the distinctly aromatic features of […]
Posted in, National
Safeway Contributes $10.4 Million to Muscular Dystrophy Association
Safeway Inc. customers and employees raised $10.4 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), funding millions of dollars in research and for supporting MDA clinical care. Safeway EVP Larree Renda presented National Youth Chairman Luke Christie with the check during the MDA Labor Day Telethon in Las Vegas on Sept. 4. Including this year’s contributions, […]
Posted in, Shelby Content, Southeast
Winn-Dixie Offers Free Items with Flu Shot
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. is offering its popular “What-A-Deal” promotion for flu season for the second consecutive year. Through Sept. 20, guests who use their Customer Reward Card when getting a seasonal flu vaccination will not only pay the discounted rate of $24.99 ($5 discount), but also will receive five free bonus grocery items valued at […]
Posted in, West
Associated Food Stores’ Parkinson Retiring
Associated Food Stores President and CEO Richard Parkinson, who led the grocery cooperative to notable growth and also oversaw the purchase of the financially troubled Albertsons’ Utah supermarkets, is retiring.
Posted in, West
Kroger Names Joe Fey President of QFC Division
The Kroger Co. has announced the promotion of Joe Fey as president of the Quality Food Centers (QFC) Division. Fey, 57, has been VP of merchandising for the company’s Michigan Division. He succeeds Donna Giordano, who was recently promoted to president of the Ralphs Division in California. “We are pleased Joe has agreed to join […]
Posted in, National
Grapery Introduces New Cotton Candy Grapes
Bakersfield, California (September 7, 2011) – The Cotton Candy green grape, with a distinctive and sweet flavor, is in its first year of commercial trial production in Grapery’s California vineyards. “Cotton Candy tastes like no other grape,” said Grapery CEO Jim Beagle in a company press release. “You have to try them for yourself. Frankly […]
Posted in, National
Eight Brokerage Firms Come Together for BEACONUNITED
A group of eight leading U.S. food brokers are combining forces to build brands for manufacturers and enhance retailer relationships. The eight brokerage houses are ArchPoint Sales in San Antonio; Blackford Brokers in Shawnee Mission, Kan.; Brennan & Nagel Marketing and Sales, St. Louis; Carlin O’Brien, Chicago; Co-Sales Co., Arizona; ESM/Ferolie, New Jersey; KCBS, Cincinnati; […]
Posted in, Market Profile, Midwest
2011 Iowa Profile: Politicians, New Retailers Drawn to Iowa This Year
[gn_note color=”#FFCC00″]The 2011 Iowa Profile originally ran in the August 2011 edition of The Shelby Report of the Midwest. Due to reader requests we will be posting our Profiles from each edition of The Shelby Report. The profile will be published on theshelbyreport.com one month after it has run in print.[/gn_note] State-based chains add stores, […]
Posted in, West
Fresh & Easy Starts in Oak Park, More Locations Planned
Fresh & Easy got started on its first store Wednesday in Oak Park, but that’s just the beginning, in more ways than one, reports the Sacramento Business Journal. The grocery chain also plans six other stores in the area in 2012, according to a statement from the store. The stores are expected to bring another […]
Posted in, Shelby Content, West
Rite Aid Workers Approve Labor Agreement
About 3,500 workers at Rite Aid in Northern and Central California—including 450 in the Sacramento region—have voted to ratify a new labor agreement according to the Sacramento Business Journal. The contract includes across-the-board wage increases and a ratification bonus. It also maintains a comprehensive union pension plan and health care benefits. The union declined to […]
Posted in, National, Suppliers
Obregon Resigns from the Hass Avocado Board
Jose Luis Obregon has resigned as the executive director of the Hass Avocado Board
Posted in, Midwest
Meijer Ups Purchases From Midwest Farms 5 Percent
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer is digging deeper into its network of area farms by increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables it sources from Midwest farms by 5 percent this year, said Mark Stevenson, produce director. The program of buying produce from farms located within the five-state region in which Meijer conducts business—Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, […]
Posted in, National, The Independent Perspective
Debit Swipe Fee Reforms: What Does it All Mean for Your Business?
For nearly a decade merchants have been fighting to level the playing field and bring about reforms of debit and credit card interchange fees (often referred to as swipe fees)—fees that total over $50 billion a year. A little over a year ago merchants and consumers scored a major victory when an amendment authored by […]
Posted in, West
Fresh & Easy Opens in Bayview-Hunters Point
On Aug. 24, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opened its second store in San Francisco, in the underserved Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. Crowds of welcoming neighbors in the Bayview neighborhood came out to celebrate the first new grocery store to open in their community in the past 20 years. The Bayview is traditionally an underserved neighborhood, […]
Posted in, Southwest, West
Sunflower Farmers Market Promotes Black to VP, Ops
by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor Steve Black, a supermarket veteran with 34 years in the industry, was promoted this week to VP of operations for Sunflower Farmers Market. Sunflower is opening a new store in Oklahoma City Aug. 31, and it will be a homecoming for Black. He spent 30 of those 34 years in Oklahoma, […]