FOODSERVICE NEWS

Mass. Unveils Draft Of New Food Allergy Rules
Last week the Mass. Dept. of Health released draft regulations for the state’s food allergy law. Restaurants with printed menus will be required to add a statement reminding customers of their obligation to inform the staff of any food allergies. Restaurants are also encouraged to include the statement on all versions of their menu including websites and take out menus. In addition any restaurant certified food protection manager and person in charge (PIC) will be required to view a training video. There is expected to be a six month grace period for all existing PICS and managers to receive this certification after the regulations are adopted.Currently the law does not require operators to post allergy alerts on menu boards and drive-throughs but the Public Health Council could expand the scope before the requirements are formally adopted into law in April A public hearing on these regulations is scheduled for March 12 Target implementation of the new requirements is July 1.

NRA Applauds School Lunch Providers For Anti Obesity Support
Last week The National Restaurant Association applauded school lunch providers Aramark, Chartwells Educational Dining Services of Compass Group North America, and Sodexo for their support to join First Lady Michelle Obama in a program to eliminate childhood obesity.
At a White House ceremony to launch the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign, the restaurant association members pledged to support the Administration’s Healthier US School Challenge by including more fruit, juice, vegetable, whole grain and milk options in reimbursable lunches as well as increasing the foods in school lunches that meet the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for fat, sugar and whole grains over the next five years.
The providers also agreed to increase nutrition education efforts aimed at students and parents. Under the agreement, the school lunch providers will work closely with the White House, federal and state agencies, local school districts and others in the private sector to achieve these objectives.
Collectively, Aramark, Chartwells and Sodexo serve over 750 million school meals annually. The agreement will affect 135,000 students in the 2010-2011 school year alone. In addition, representatives estimate a potential increase of nearly 19 million meals conforming to standards outlined in the Healthier US School Challenge. The school lunch providers expect to reach more than 2 million families with nutrition information and plan to double produce offered in school meals over the next 10 years.

Dominos Reports $1 Billion In Online Sales
Domino's Pizza has reported exceeding the milestone of $1 billion in online sales. It reached that milestone, taking in more than 160,000 orders on Feb. 7, the day of the Super Bowl. Just before kickoff customers were logging on at a rate of more than 1,000 orders per minute.
"We are thrilled with how our innovative online ordering system has been doing since day one, and we owe that success to our customers," said Russell Weiner, Chief Marketing Officer. "It's clear after $1 billion in sales online that consumers are taking full advantage of the convenience and efficiency of our online ordering process, and we want to thank them for that."
Domino’s is rewarding customers who order online Feb. 14 by offering a free order of Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes.
Domino’s also offers its online Pizza Tracker, which allows customers the online ability to follow the status of their pizza order.

Food Service Latest Word…
Fitz, Vogt and Associates of Walpole N.H. has been chosen as the exclusive food service provider for Wingate Healthcare of Needham, Mass., which operates 21 residential facilties in Massachusetts and eastern New York. Wingate’s facilities include 17 nursing homes, two brain trauma centers, one assisted living residence and one independent living residence.

Maine’s Restaurant Week (March 1 through March 10) includes more than 90 restaurants.

Boston’s Winter Restaurant Week is March 14-19 and March 21-26. Already 200 restaurants have expressed interest in participation.

Craig Miller, who has led many restaurant chains including Uno’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, has expressed an interest in running for Congress in Florida.

Ian Saunders is the new president and chief operating officer for TGI Friday’s Int’l.

C-STORE NEWS

Beverage Industry Will Make Calories Clearer For Shoppers
Answering First Lady Michelle Obama's call for innovative industry initiatives that contribute to her healthy families program, America's non-alcoholic beverage companies are coming together to make the calories in their products even more clear and consumer-friendly by putting the information on the front of all their packages, vending machines and fountain machines.
The voluntary commitment contributes to Mrs. Obama's efforts to help families make informed choices as part of a balanced lifestyle. The industry will start implementing the initiative across the country this year with completion in 2012.
According to the American Beverage Assn. the beverage industry - whose leading companies include The Coca-Cola Company, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, PepsiCo, Nestle Waters North America and Sunny Delight - is also committing to continue reducing the beverage calories in the marketplace through smaller portion sizes and further marketing of their low-calorie beverages.
This new initiative will contain the following: Product labels: Total calorie counts will be displayed on the front of labels for the entire container, up to and including 20-ounce products. A 12-ounce serving size will be used in displaying calories for multi-serve beverage packages (such as 2-liter bottles). Vending Machines: Total calorie counts for the entire container will be displayed on the beverage selection buttons of vending machines controlled by the companies. Fountain Machines: Calorie counts will be shown prominently on all fountain beverage machines.

Connecticut To Overhaul State’s 23 Travel Plazas
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has a new 35 year agreement with Project Service LLC to overhaul and manage the operations of the state’s 23 owned travel plazas located on I-95, I-395, the Merritt Parkway, and the Wilbur Cross Parkway.
Project Service LLC is a joint venture of Doctor’s Associates, the parent company of SUBWAY, and The Carlyle Group, a global private equity fund. Under the agreement, Project Service and its tenants will invest approximately $178,000,000 to complete upgrades and improvements to the facilities. In all, the state of Connecticut expects to receive approximately $500,000,000 of economic benefit over the life of the agreement, including a commitment from Project Service to invest to upgrade and refresh the plazas again just prior to the contract’s expiration. The redevelopment project will result in additional and improved retail offerings at the facilities, all of which will include SUBWAY restaurants after the completion of the upgrades. In addition, certain plazas will include Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, and other restaurants and shops and all of the facilities will have fuel islands and convenience stores operated by Alliance Energy, LLC.

NCA To Offer Candy School To the Trade For 48th Year
The National Confectioners Association has announced its 48th annual Course in Confectionery Technology July 26 – Aug. 6, 2010 at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. This two-week course begins with the chemical and functional interactions of ingredients and advances to more complex subject material including processing, trouble-shooting, re-work and sensory analysis.
Participants will gain hands-on laboratory experience with all types of confections including hard candy, chewing and bubble gum, tableted confections, jellies and gummies, aerated confections, nougat, fondants and creams, soft, hard, and chocolate panning, fudge and caramel, toffee, chocolate, compound coatings, colors, and flavors. New for the 2010 is the addition of course materials about sugar-free confectionery. More than 1,000 people in the confectionery industry have graduated from the program over the years. For more information contact NCA at (202) 534-1440, or laura.shumow@CandyUSA.com. Information can also be obtained on the NCA website at www.candyusa.com.

C-Store Latest Word…
Tedeschi Food Shops opened its 190th location last week in Fall River, Mass. The new location is the company’s fourth store in Fall River. To mark the opening, the retailer will be making a donation to the city’s Fall River’s Boys and Girls Club.

The US. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has filed an appeal against a federal judge concerning the agency’s authority over electronic cigarettes. The judge had ruled that the FDA could not stop the importation of e-cigarettes.

Mars Chocolate North American has released 3 Musketeers Truffle Crisp Bar for select supermarkets, convenience stores, and various mass retailers nationwide.

NEW CHANNELS

Washington D.C. Retailers Will Soon Charge For Plastic Bags
The Washington D.C. Department of the Environment recently clarified its plastic bag tax rules. The new regulations outlined what retailers have to charge (a nickel per plastic bag) and how enforcement of the law would be done.
One of the first plastic bag fees in the United States, the D.C. plastic bag tax is aimed to alter consumer behavior and curb Chesapeake Bay watershed pollution. The city predicts that from 2010 to 2014 the tax will bring in around $10 million, which will go to environmental programs.
Under the rules, which have a 30-day public comment period before becoming permanent, food street vendors, liquor stores, restaurants, convenience stores selling food, grocery stores, delis, bakeries and “any business that sells food items” must collect 5 cents for every plastic bag used.
Stores selling both food and nonfood items, including most pharmacies, have to charge the tax even if a customer does not buy a food or another item. The new rules would not make the tax apply to bags used to contain food inside food stores, such as for bulk items like fruit or nuts.
Exempt are bags used for laundry or dry cleaning, prescription drugs or newspapers. Paper bags for restaurant food would not be charged the tax. Beginning April 1, plastic or plastic disposable bags must be 100 percent recyclable and carry the phrase, “Please recycle this bag.” The law allows retailers to keep a penny of the nickel tax, with the other 4 cents going to the D.C. Office of Tax Revenue. Stores can give consumers a 5-cent credit per bag when bringing their own bags and keep two pennies of the tax.

Walmart, P&G Unite For TV Movie
Last week Walmart announced the official launch of its Family Moments campaign, a marketing, in-store and digital initiative designed to provide more family entertainment options. A focal point of Family Moments is a project with Procter & Gamble to produce family-friendly TV programming, beginning with "Secrets of The Mountain," a TV movie which will debut on NBC on April 16. "At Walmart, we are committed to delivering more quality family entertainment options to parents across the country. It's something we know our shoppers want, it's important to the growth of our business, and it's one more way we are delivering on our brand promise to help families save money and live better," said Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer for Walmart.
"We are pleased to be working with Walmart on their Family Moments initiative to positively impact the number of choices families have for television entertainment," said Marc Pritchard, global marketing and brand building officer for P&G. "As a company of family brands, we know that context matters, and we're proud to advertise our brands in this broadly appealing content."
"Secrets of The Mountain," a two-hour movie, is a drama/adventure and focuses on Dana James, a public defender and single mother who takes her family to visit a mountain cabin they inherited from their eccentric uncle, only to find themselves embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.

Aurora Products Achieves Safe Quality Food Level 2 Designation
Aurora Products of Stratford, Conn. which packages all natural and organic dried fruits, nuts granolas and trail mixes, has been awarded Safe Quality Food Certification Level 2. The Aurora Products facility has grown to more than 150 employees and uses state of the art equipment. Owner Stephanie Blackwell said the SQF certification provides assurances that all Aurora products provide buyers four major benefits when they purchase any Aurora product. These benefits are: that Aurora products are safe; the products are of the highest quality; sources for all Aurora ingredients are identified quickly; and SQF standards are constantly upheld. The vast array of the Aurora product lines can be found in the produce or all natural sections within supermarket chains and independent stores.

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Gillette has launched its Fusion ProGlide shaving system and the Gillettee Fusion ProSeries, an advanced lineup of male skin care products.

The Organic Trade Association has appointed Will Telligman to fill the new position of legislative and advocacy manager in the organization's new Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Telligman most recently served as legislative affairs coordinator for the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) in D.C. Mr. Telligman will assist the OTA regarding organic agriculture, industry, and trade.

The Food Emporium, a division of A&P, will host a “Taste of France” promotion at its Flagship Bridge Market store in New York City on Feb. 19.