FOODSERVICE NEWS

AGAR Announces Two Executive Appointments
AGAR, Taunton, Mass. made two major appointments last week including Greg Burgess as chief operating officer and Chris Kelberman as vice president of finance. Mr. Burgess, in addition to his current oversight of sales, human resources, and information technology, will assume leadership responsibilities for procurement and operations as well as overall business strategy, buying techniques and sales strategies. Mr. Burgess, previously executive vice president of sales, finance & administration has been at AGAR for over 10 years. In her new role, Ms. Kelberman will be responsible for overall strategy including the finance department, financial reporting, analysis, audit, budgeting, and credit & collections Most recently, Ms. Kelberman served as vice president of finance & administration for a division of Roper Industries. Her other professional roles include director of finance, Asia, for Fisher Scientific’s Biosciences Division, director of financial planning & analysis for  Cytyc Corporation, as well as serving as controller for  financial start ups, emerging markets, for Boston Scientific.

New England Trade Opens Restaurant Division
New England Trade, a bartering organization, has set up a special restaurant division. According to Ken Meharg, chief executive officer for New England Trade, members put up gift certificates to their establishments in exchange for the services they need to run their organizations, things like upkeep of their facility, pest control, new menus, advertising, etc. “We also have members who like to use their barter dollars on restaurant gift certificates to use for themselves or incentive programs for their staff or
In a bartering organization, members have access to the products and services of all the members. For example, the plumber can do work for the CPA on barter, but can then choose to “spend” the bartering dollars he’s accrued on another product or service offered by other members. There is some exchange of cash involved with barter. A 7.5 percent transaction fee goes to the bartering organization and members are responsible for paying taxes on the barter dollars they earn. For more information, log onto www.newenglandtrade.com.

New Culinary Program Brings Italian Chefs To Boston
This summer, La Pentola di Rame will launch a culinary program that offers unique Italian food and cultural experiences to Boston, The company will transport acclaimed Italian chefs stateside for two-week tours packed with cooking classes, guest chef dinners, a Chef’s Table supper club, and private, in-home events. Bostonians will have a chance to engage closely with some of Italy’s top culinary talent as they sample Italian cuisine.  After two years of intensive culinary training at La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana in Tuscany, Carleen Haylett returned to Boston to found La Pentola di Rame, which translates to “The Copper Pot” in Italian. La Pentola di Rame will partner with venues throughout Boston and Cambridge to offer educational courses, guest chef dinners, and a Chef’s Table supper club, allowing guests to interact closely with Italy’s top culinary talent. Chefs will also be available for private, in-home classes and events. For more information on Chef Lencioni and a detailed schedule of events, classes, and guest appearances, log onto HYPERLINK "http://www.lapentoladirame.com" www.lapentoladirame.com.

Food Service Latest Word…
The New Hampshire Dept. of Revenue has extended the deadline for the renewal of meals and rentals tax operator licenses to Aug. 31. Renewing the licenses authorizes the business to act as an agent on behalf of the state of New Hampshire by collecting a nine percent (increased from 8 percent July 1) from meals, rooms, motor vehicle, and campground rental customers.

The New Hampshire Coffee Roasting Co. of Dover, N.H. was recently awarded a five year contract for coffee and coffee equipment by the University of New Hampshire.

Judd Brown Designs, a national hospitality design firm, was chosen to develop “Big Papi’s Grille, “ a collaborative effort by Red Sox player David Ortiz and Classic Restaurant Concepts. of Boston. The first location on Route 9 in Framingham, will open on July 23 at the former location of metro9 Steakhouse.

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell has awarded nearly $800,000 in grants from federal stimulus funds to local school, charter and private schools to buy new equipment for cafeterias and lunchrooms.

C-STORE NEWS

NACS Concerned About House Plan For Federal Health Care
The National Assn. of Convenience Stores (NACS) is speaking out against health care legislation circulating through three committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. Hank Armour, NACS president, wrote a letter last week to several. U.S. House committee chairmen and said the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, causes grave concerns for the convenience and petroleum industry because it would create new a policy for which there is no precedent, as well as implement long-term consequences and costs in the American health care system that cannot be accurately measured or predicted. His four main concerns include an employer mandate with a payroll tax penalty; a surtax on income; a health care exchange where a public plan will compete with private plans; and individual mandates.

Regulators Reject Automatic Temperature Compensation Proposals
Last week by an overwhelming majority vote, the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) withdrew two proposals that would have mandated or permitted the use of automatic temperature compensation (ATC) devices on retail fuel dispensers “This is a significant victory for retailers and consumers,” said John Eichberger, NACS vice president of government relations. “After several years of debate and several analyses of costs and benefits, the states' regulators finally determined there is insufficient justification to support a change in the way motor fuels are sold. NCWM determined that ATC measures would result in higher costs for consumers while providing little or no benefit. The vote of the entire conference confirms that consensus has coalesced against implementing ATC at retail.”
Mr. Eichberger reported that during the open hearing on the topic, at least 47 individuals spoke to the issue. Of those, more than 40 — including industry representatives and state officials — voiced opposition to the proposals. Meanwhile, those speaking in favor were two consultants (at least one of whom has been hired by the plaintiffs in the ongoing litigation) and three individuals from various areas in the state of California.

Minimum Bids Announced In Sale of Uni-Marts
Matrix Capital Markets Group, of Richmond, Va., has announced that minimum bids have been established in the Uni-Marts Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The aggregate of the minimum bids for all (207) Uni-Marts’ assets is $15,708,000.
Each of Uni-Marts’ one-hundred and fourteen (114) company-operated stores is available for sale on an individual basis and the minimum bids range from $2,500 to $342,000 for leased stores and $50,000 to $1,695,000 for stores where Uni-Marts owns the real estate. These assets generated $7.2 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) on fuels volume of 70.6 million gallons and $87.6 million in merchandise sales for the most recent 52-week period.
Tom Kelso, Matrix managing director said .“the sale of the company-operated sites are an excellent opportunity for existing operators or entrepreneurs looking to enter the industry, and the lessee-dealer and dealer operations offer a substantial amount of fuels volume and rental income at very attractive values.” The stores are located in Ohio, Pennyslvania, and New York. For more information, log onto HYPERLINK "http://www.matrixcapitalonline.com" www.matrixcapitalonline.com.

C-Store Latest Word…
According to the New York Assn. of Convenience Stores (NYACS), the New York City Board of Health will hold a hearing July 30 on a proposed regulation that would force tobacco retailers to display “hideous” health warning signs at point of sale. The New York City Council is scheduled to vote July 29 on a proposed local law banning the sale of flavored smokeless tobacco, cigars, blunt wraps, and other non-tobacco products.

Exxon Mobil plans to invest $600 million to study and develop algae-based biofuels. The partnership with Synthetic Genomics will run five to six years and a new test facility with San Diego will be created to research how to grow algae and extract oil from the plants.

TNT Marketing will Helps Old World Industries enter the diesel exhaust market with the launch of BlueDEF into C-Stores. BlueDEF converts the pollutant harmless nitrogen and water in catalytic reduction) emissions-control systems. All diesel-powered commercial vehicles must meet new EPA standards by 2010.

NEW CHANNELS

Delhaize Aims For Highest LEED Certified Supermarkets
The Delhaize Group of Belgium is investing a lot of money in the green movement in its supermarkets at Hannaford and Food Lion. On July 25, Hannaford opens what it considers is the most environmentally-advanced supermarket in the U.S. in Augusta., Maine The 49,000-square-foot store is aiming to be the first supermarket to achieve Platinum LEED certification. Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the highest standard of the U.S. Green Building Council.
On July 14, Food Lion LLC broke ground on South Carolina’s first green grocery store in Columbia, S.C. The store will feature a number of environmentally friendly construction and energy-efficient services, including an on-site recycling center, skylights for natural lighting, educational kiosks and preferred parking for low-emitting vehicles.

Wal-Mart Announces Sustainable Product Index
Last week, Wal-Mart announced plans to develop a worldwide sustainable product index during a meeting with 1,500 of its suppliers, associates and sustainability leaders at its home office in Arkansas. The index will establish a single source of data for evaluating the sustainability of products.
The company will introduce the initiative in three phases, beginning with a survey of its more than 100,000 suppliers around the world. Wal-Mart will ask its top tier U.S. suppliers to complete the survey by Oct. 1. Outside the United States, the company will develop timelines on a country-by-country basis for suppliers to complete the survey.
As a second step, the company is helping create a consortium of universities that will collaborate with suppliers, retailers, and government to develop a global database of information on the lifecycle of products -- from raw materials to disposal. The final step will be to translate the product information into a simple rating for consumers about the sustainability of products.

Third-Party Certification Completed For All U.S. Whole Foods Market Stores
Whole Foods Market Austin, Texas. has announced that each of the grocer's 273 stores in the United States has been individually certified, complying with stricter guidance on federal regulations.
The USDA's National Organic Standards require those who handle organic food -farmers, processors, packagers, etc. - to be certified, but do not extend the requirement to retail stores. Whole Foods Market opted to voluntarily have its stores certified to ensure that the integrity of the organic supply chain is intact.
Certifying each store is CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), a nonprofit organization. Under this program, CCOF verifies that Whole Foods Market examines the current organic certification status of organic products; maintains a record-keeping process that demonstrates an audit trail for organic products; ensures organic products are appropriately protected from commingling with conventional products and contamination with prohibited materials and trains store team Members in handling practices for organic products.

New Channels Latest Word…
Patriot Place of Foxboro, Mass., along with Ocean Spray have joined together to form “The Nature Trail and Cranberry Bog at Patriot Place,” a 32-acre cranberry wetland system and wooded area behind Bass Pro Shops at Patriot Place. The nature trail features a bridge and observation platform stretching across a six-acre pond, and contains a wide variety and high concentration of wildlife and plant life.

National pharmacy chin Rite Aid has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceptively advertised that its “germ defense” tables and lozenges could prevent and treat colds and the flu or reduce the severity and duration of the illnesses.

Reckitt Benkiser is launching a global digital campaign to address its brand awareness and communicate its shift to a simpler RB logo. The campaign will focus on social media such as Face book and LinkedIn.