FOODSERVICE NEWS

National Health Bill To Contain Chain Calorie Info.
One immediate aspect of the new national health care bill is a requirement for chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to provide nutrition information on its menus. Caloric information would be highlighted on menus, menu boards, and drive-thru boards.
The new national standard will negate the need for states and localities for pursuing their own legislation or regulations going forward.“The passage of this provision is a win for consumers and restaurateurs," said Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association President and chief executive officer. . "We know the importance of providing consumers with the information they want and need, no matter in which part of the country they are dining. This legislation will replace a growing patchwork of varying state and local regulations with one consistent national standard that helps consumers make choices that are best for themselves and their families."

Support For Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act In Schools
The International Dairy Foods Assn. (IDFA) and the Grocery Manufacturers Assn. (GMA) both came out last week in support of a bipartisan Congressional bill which would strengthen federal child nutrition programs in schools food service programs.
The bill called the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 requires that science-based nutrition standards apply to all food and beverages in schools and provides $4.5 billion in new child nutrition program funding over 10 years. The federal child nutrition programs include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Supplemental Program for Women Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Scott Faber, GMA vice president of federal affairs, said the GMA “strongly supports efforts to feed many more children through school lunch and breakfast programs and to increase the number of healthy choices in the cafeteria.  We share U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln's priorities for a stronger Child Nutrition Act, including increased access to the school meals programs, science-based standards for foods sold in schools, more healthy foods available in the cafeteria, and more education about healthy diets.
He added, “In particular, we believe that Congress should give USDA clear authority to set science-based standards for foods sold in schools during the school day. The school environment is a special environment, and USDA should be given the power to establish nutrition standards for competitive foods.  We believe that the school cafeteria line can be on the front lines of feeding children while ending childhood obesity within a generation.  We look forward to working with Congress on these provisions.”

Preview Of March 31 Maine Restaurant & Lodging Expo
More than 125 exhibitors are expected to display products and services at the Maine Restaurant and Lodging Expo set for Wednesday, March 31 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland Maine. Four free workshops including three seminars on Internet and email marketing will be presented during the day.
The Maine Restaurant Assn Annual Awards Banquet will be held on Tuesday, March 30, at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland, Maine. Chef Rick Hirsch, owner of Midcoast Maine’s Damariscotta River Grill, has been named the 2010 Chef of the Year. Other awards include: Jen Beltz and Thom Householder of Front Burner PR as Allied Member of the Year; the Henry Family of the Maine Diner of Wells, Maine, as “Restaurateur of the Year,” and Ed Degenhardt, one of Maine’s original McDonald’s franchisees in 1974, will be presented the Bill Zoidis Lifetime Achievement Award.

Food Service Latest Word…
A bill that would lift a Sunday ban on serving alcohol in restaurants before noon has been filed in the Mass. Legislature. If the ban is lifted, it would allow restaurants to serve alcohol at 10 a.m.

A.J. Letizio plans to announce new sales and marketing in school food service efforts in Upstate New York.

Brinker Int’l plans to sell its On The Border Mexican Grill and Cantina brand to Golden Gate Capital.

Ted Newcomer has been named senior vice president of operations for the Chow Fun Food Group.

Brian O’Mara is the new vice president of marketing for the Baskin Robbins Worldwide.

Denny’s plans to launch its first stand alone, grab and go counter in California.

Boston’s first Indian Chinese restaurant will soon open on Newbury Street.

Subway plans to launch breakfast items on its menus next month. The Cara Donna spring show will be held March 31 at Lombardo’s in Randolph, Mass.

C-STORE NEWS

NECSA Director Reports Positive C Store Moves From Maine
Diana O’Donoughue, executive director for the New England Convenience Store Assn, (NECSA). has reported positive legislative news for convenience store trade in Maine. She said last week there will be no cigarette tax increase, no proposed mandatory sick leave bill and the Flavored Cigar Ban Bill was amended to allow for continued sales.
The Maine Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has recommended a supplemental revenue bill that has no new tax increases on any tobacco products.  The current $2 per pack cigarette tax will remain. She also reported that the Maine Senate president’s sick leave bill died at the end of March with ‘an ought not to pass’ recommendation by the Labor Committee.   
Another bill, which would have banned all small flavored cigars and was pushed by the State’s Attorney General, was amended and passed favorably out of committee.   The amended version will allow currently grandfathered flavored cigars as well as currently exempted flavored cigar products to continue to be sold in Maine. 

McLane To Acquire Major N.C. Liquor Distributor
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. recently announced that its subsidiary, McLane Co. , has entered into an agreement to acquire Kahn Ventures, Inc., parent company of Empire Distributors, Inc. and Empire Distributors of North Carolina, Inc.
Kahn Ventures, Inc. and its subsidiaries are wholesale distributors of distilled spirits, wine and beer in Georgia and North Carolina. Empire will continue to be run in the same manner as it has been, led by the current executive management team, and will be operating out of its existing state-of-the art facilities and in all the same markets.
Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, said that this acquisition is based on a shared vision of Berkshire, McLane and Kahn of developing new opportunities to innovate, grow and lead the beverage industry. “We are excited about the opportunity to have Empire become part of our portfolio of outstanding businesses. We expect that the Empire acquisition will provide us with a solid platform for potentially acquiring other similar high quality wholesale distributors.”

Ga. Lawmakers Review Fuel Prices After An Emergency
The Georgia Senate has approved a bill that would allow gasoline station owners to affix a higher price on fuel after an emergency has been declared.
Jim Tudor, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, worked on adding the price-increase language to the bill. He pointed out that stations need to charge replacement costs because they have to pay for the fuel upfront. “In order for small retailers to generate funds to replenish their inventory, the replacement cost has to be taken into consideration, as it has been in other states,” said Mr. Tudor. “Right now the state allows, during the state of emergency, for replacement cost pricing for plywood, which is a very volatile product…What we have attempted to show the state is that motor fuel is even more volatile.”
The bill had been written to provide the governor with more ways to decide which products could be considered under gouging laws during emergencies.The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs is concerned that the bill would make it harder to bring to court a gasoline station on price-gouging charges.

C-Store Latest Word…
PepsiCo is testing an ingredient in its Lay’s Potato Chips which would allow for low sodium salt. PepsiCo is looking at using salt crystals which will slash salt levels by 25 percent.

Rutter’s Farm Stores is adding a new item to its food service menu: Pigtails which is two hot dogs cut in long strips. When the strips are fried, they curt to resemble pigtails. An order costs $1.20. Other new items are sliced roast pork au jus, pork egg rolls, fried dumplings, and Canadian bacon as a breakfast option.

7-Eleven is developing private label foods appealing to Hispanic shoppers. The items will be sold in Seven-Eleven Mexico stores and in 7-Eleven locations that serve a high concentration of Hispanic shoppers.

NEW CHANNELS

Tomra Launches New Recycling Machine For Retailers
Tomra of North America has introduced the T53, a new model of its “reverse vending” recycling machine to meet the special demands of environments with greater exposure, such as retail store fronts and outdoor enclosures. The T53 features reinforced doors and cabinets, as well as a special heavy duty locking system, that collects, sorts and compacts used beverage containers.
Reverse vending machines (RVMs) – which look much like traditional vending machines – automate the collection and sorting of used plastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers.  In addition to providing receipts for deposit refunds, the T53 also offers retailers the opportunity to generate product coupons or special offers for redemption inside the store, increasing foot traffic and incremental sales. In fact, the machine itself can host four-color, billboard-style advertising from consumer packed goods (CPG) companies.

Kentucky Kroger Stores Test Health Program
Kroger began a new health-and-wellness program this week, “Health Matters at Kroger,” which features the NuVal nutrition rating at 23 of its central Kentucky stores. The Kentucky rollout will serve as a testing ground for Kroger’s entire store base.
The NuVal system includes shelf tags with scores from 1 (least healthy foods) to 100 (healthiest items), analyzing more than 30 food factors and ingredients to arrive at a given score for any item.
The Kentucky stores will also feature registered dieticians who will assist shoppers in customizing dietary needs.
The program will also feature Kroger’s health station, a kiosk that enables shoppers to determine their weight, body mass index, blood pressure, pulse, and other health measures Users can measure their progress which can then be tracked at www.kroger.com/healthmatters.
The Kentucky test stores will feature registered dieticians to run scheduled tours with shoppers to help assess their individual dietary needs.
Kroger will gauge customer reaction to the program and pay attention to how many shoppers sign up for the online tracking service and how many enroll for the in store dietician program.

Walmart To Explore More Financial Centers
Walmart is exploring expanding its in store financial services, opening 500 more MoneyCenters this year within its stores. The Money Centers offer check cashing, bill payment, and money transfers. They're targeted mainly at lower-income shoppers who might not otherwise have access to a traditional bank account.
According to federal banking officials about 8 percent of U.S. households do not maintain traditional bank accounts and the percentages rise significantly among blacks and Hispanics, according to the FDIC. Since 2007, the number of Walmart MoneyCenters has increased from 225 to more than 1,000 today.
The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) said that the move could be beneficial for consumers, if it brings more competition to the industry and calls attention to an underserved demographic.
According to Wal-Mart, fees at MoneyCenters start at $3 for check cashing and 88 cents for paying bills. The MoneyCenters also offer a prepaid Visa debit card, the Walmart MoneyCard.

New Channels Latest Word…
The new Star Market store in Chestnut Hill, Mass., recently received two Association for Retail Environmental Sustainability Awards for its use of environmental technology. The supermarket was cited for its use of all LED fixtures for its interior and exterior lighting and use of the green refrigeration technology.

BJ’s Wholesale Club will be moving its corporate headquarters from Natick to Westboro, Mass. early next year. The move will allow BJ employees to occupy a single building as opposed to 1,000 corporate employees working in five different buildings.

The Connecticut Food Assn. will be hosting a “Marketing to Connecticut’s Growing Hispanic Consumers seminar April 28 at the Kraft Distribution Center in Glastonbury, Conn. from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.

The Rhode Island Hospitality Assn. will host a Green Vendor showcase Thursday, April 22 beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel. The RIHA will present Green Certification certifications out to those who meet the requirements.