Industry

MINNEAPOLIS - Supervalu Inc. said on Friday that employees at its 21 St. Louis Shop 'n Save stores approved a new labor contract. The agreement marked the end of a four-week work stoppage.

LOS ANGELES - An official from the United Food and Commercial Workers said Friday the union stopped picketing at Kroger Co.'s Ralphs stores, but will attempt to expand pickets against Safeway Inc. and Albertsons Inc. stores, according to a Dow Jones newswire report.

ST. LOUIS - A federal mediator on Wednesday proposed a settlement to end a strike and lockout involving more than 10,000 St. Louis area grocery store workers that is in its fourth week, The Associated Press reports. Members of the UFCW Local 655 are scheduled to vote on the proposal today.

COLTON, Calif. - Several West Coast supermarket chains have stepped up to help victims of the Southern California wildfires.

DURHAM, N.C. - Aiming to advance the knowledge and understanding of life-threatening food allergies, Food Lion has donated $250,000 to the Duke Children's Hospital & Health Center here in support of Duke's new Children's Food Allergy Education Program.

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. - As the countdown begins for the Food & Drug Administration's new bioterrorism rules that go into effect Dec. 12, the Food Institute here has added a condensed half-day version of its "Complying With FDA's Final Bioterrorism Rules" seminar, to be held Nov. 6.

BUENOS AIRES - After a six-month delay, Disco SA, the troubled Argentine unit of Dutch supermarket retailer Royal Ahold NV , has released results for full-year 2002 that show a net loss of ARS2.6 billion ($1=ARS2.845) for 2002 in a filing to the Buenos Aires stock exchange Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES - The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke to striking grocery clerks at a rally here yesterday, saying their strike was part of a wider struggle by workers across the country to fight employers' efforts to shrink wages and benefits.