Have you ever thought that what you see is sometimes different from what you are really seeing?
The famous Arcimboldo's "Vegetables In A Bowl Or The Gardener" painting is a clear example ....
At a time of rising concern over pathogens in produce, Congress is moving to eliminate the only national program that regularly screens US fruits and vegetables for the type of E.coli that recently caused a deadly outbreak in Germany.The House last month approved a bill that would end funding for the 10-year-old Microbiological Data Program (MDP), which tests about 15,000 annual samples of vulnerable produce such as sprouts, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cantaloupe and cilantro for pathogens including salmonella and E. coli.Over the last two years, its findings have triggered at least 19 produce recalls, according to the Food and Drug Administration.The commercial produce industry, which has long expressed concerns about the program, this spring suggested ending its $4.5 million funding. In a memo to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee complained about "unnecessary recalls" and asked if the funds would be "better utilized elsewhere."But defenders of the program note that no other agency tests the same breadth of produce for pathogens. For example, the FDA typically spot-checks about 1,000 samples a year, compared with 15,000 for the Microbiological Data Program. In addition, the only E. coli the FDA tests for is the O157 H7 strain, but the MDP also tests for non-O157 strains that include the increasingly mercurial and virulent Shiga toxin-carrying strains of E.coli that contaminated sprouts in Europe, killing more than 40 and sickening 4,100.Source: Chicago Tribune
The European Union is withdrawing from the market, and temporarily banning the import of, certain types of seeds from Egypt after Egyptian fenugreek seeds were linked to the E. coli outbreaks (O104 strain) in northern Germany and Bordeaux, France. The decision follows a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report, published earlier today, establishing a link between the outbreaks and seeds from Egypt.Health and Consumer Commissioner John Dalli said: “Tracing back the origins of the E. Coli 0104 contaminations in Germany and France has been a key priority for the EU from day one of the crisis. The report published today leads us to withdrawing of some Egyptian seeds from the EU market and to a temporary ban on imports of some seeds and beans originating from that country. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation very closely and will take additional measures if necessary."
Diet soft drinks “may be free of calories but not of consequences,” according to new research from the University of Texas which questions the benefits of drinking low calorie soda.Two research studies, recently presented at the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions in San Diego, suggest that consuming diet soft drinks could be self-defeating. However industry members have hit back at the studies, noting that other recent studies contradict the results and affirm the benefits of consuming such drinks.In the first study, researchers from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, reported that diet soft drink consumption is associated with increased waist circumference in humans, whilst the second study that found aspartame raised fasting glucose levels in diabetes-prone mice.“Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised,” said Dr Helen Hazuda, professor and chief of the Division of Clinical Epidemiology in the School of Medicine.
US grocer Kroger is testing a self-checkout-less store in Houston, Texas, according to Storefront Backtalk. The retailer has completely redesigned the store which now does not feature any self-checkouts at all.While Kroger’s motivation for this move is not clear, the report suggests that this change might be about testing a new checkout approach or that the removal of self-checkout might simply be a matter of freeing up space in a tightly designed store.Kroger is experimenting with new checkout technologies. In July 2010, the US grocer was the first retailer to install a fully-automated tunnel scanner at the checkout. Since June 2011, the company is also testing personal shopping technology at six locations, allowing shoppers to use handheld scanners and smart produce scales.Source: Planet Retail
Fenugreek sprouts imported from Egypt have been singled out as the possible cause of outbreaks of E.coli 104 H4 in Germany and France.A joint assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) declared “that currently fenugreek sprouts are the most likely connection between the French cases and previous outbreak in Germany.”The German outbreak in May and June has so far killed 48 and sickened around 4,000, while the French outbreak in the southern region of Bordeaux affected 15 people, although there have so far been no fatalities.The report said that all those struck down in France had attended the same community event on June 8 and consumed fenugreek, mustard and rucola sprouts.
The bodies have all warned consumers not to eat raw sprouts because of the threat of cross contamination during re-packaging.
A sweeping ban on plastic grocery bags will go into effect July 1 for unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.The bag ban was touted by county supervisors as an environmental measure to rid the county of "urban tumbleweed" that pollutes landfills and gets washed out to sea. Paper bags will still be available, but customers will be charged 10 cents per bag.The plastic bag ban will affect anyone who shops at stores outside the county's incorporated cities, such as the communities of Rowland Heights, Hacienda Heights, Altadena, La Crescenta, Topanga Canyon, Marina del Rey, Baldwin Hills, Athens, Willowbrook, Florence, Rancho Dominguez, Valencia, East Pasadena and East Los Angeles. About 1.1 million people in the county live in the unincorporated areas.Beginning July 1, 67 large supermarkets and pharmacies must stop providing disposable plastic bags. By January 2012, the ban will cover about 1,000 smaller stores.
CtW Investment Group, which works with union-sponsored pension funds, has written to Sir Richard Broadbent, Tesco's incoming chairman, calling for a review of the company's US-based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain, according to published reports.CtW asked Broadbent to lead the board "in an objective and independent review of Tesco's Fresh & Easy operations and to publicly articulate a strategy to deliver on the company's repeated promise that Fresh & Easy will break even by 2013," the Financial Times of London reported Wednesday. CtW also questioned the salary of Tim Mason, chief executive officer of Fresh & Easy, noting it is no longer linked to the chain's performance.
Tesco issued a statement that said, "We have not seen this letter, and it is regrettable but entirely typical that CtW - a U.S. union-sponsored body that is not a shareholder, does not speak for shareholders and has tried to undermine the success of Fresh & Easy from the outset - should choose to use the media to promote its hostile and unsubstantiated claims."
CtW said it did own Tesco shares through union-sponsored pension funds and would attend Friday's annual meeting.
Source: SupermarketNews
SUPERVALU said it will make 40 stores zero-waste this fiscal year, meaning at least 90% of waste is diverted from landfills. The company said it became the first food retailer to achieve zero-waste recognition, with two California Albertsons stores in November.
Walgreens has said that by the end of 2013, it plans to have nearly 50 Chicago drugstores with large offerings of fresh fruit and vegetables and other groceries.
The retailer plans to open the stores in communities that don't have many options for fresh produce. It also plans to remodel many of its 142 locations in the city and open at least five new stores. It said the plans will add around 600 jobs, half of which will come from the new and remodeled stores, and half from greater office space for e-commerce, information technology, and other areas.
Currently there are around 11 such stores in the city. Walgreen is also expanding the grocery sections of about 30 stores in San Francisco and is offering more food at 12 of its New York-based Duane Reade locations.Source: Planet Retail
BJ’s Wholesale Club in the US has agreed its sale to two private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners for around $2.8 billion. A bid was made by the two firms earlier this month for an undisclosed sum.
At a time of rising concern over pathogens in produce, Congress is moving to eliminate the only national program that regularly screens US fruits and vegetables for the type of E.coli that recently caused a deadly outbreak in Germany.
